If
by superlc529
Summary: "If" is a very big word. What if the one moment that changed everything never happened? Castle's "transported" to a world where he and Beckett never met. He remembers everything... has the world gone mad? How's he going to get back? CASKETT
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Castle… these characters belong to the genius that is Andrew W. Marlowe. 8-)

**Summary:** What if the one moment that changed everything never happened? Castle finds himself "transported" to a world where the murders in _Flowers For Your Grave_ never happened and Castle and Beckett never met. He remembers everything and all his friends have no idea who he is. Has the world gone mad? How's he going to get back?

**Tagline:** _"If" is a very big word._

**Spoilers:** Basically the whole series (up to about _Countdown_) – nothing too serious.

**Pairing:** Caskett.

**A/N:** Today is Monday, April 18, 2011 – there was something I was supposed to do today… now what was it? Oh yeah! :P I'm posting the start of my new story _If_. The idea for this gem started floating around my mind awhile ago and as soon as I had a good solid plot to work with, I decided to write it. I hope that this story lives up to all the hype and excitement it has attracted. The poster, banner, and EPIC trailer were made by the phenomenally talented Christy (**ImraArdeen1** on Youtube) – give her some love for her amazingness! (You can see the banner, poster, and trailer in my profile page).

This story turned out to only be about 63 pages on the border of 64. I split it up into a prologue, nine chapters, and an epilogue. I'm not sure about the update schedule quite yet, but once I figure it out, I'll let you guys know. Please leave a comment if you can! I want to know what you guys think of this story. This is my second Castle story, but my first time writing a full-fledged murder integrated in it… I would also like to give a little "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SCHATZIE!" shout-out. :) I hope you like your b-day present, Schatz. *hug*

Okay, okay, I hear you guys. You all just wanna start reading already. I'm not even sure if half of you guys read this part. :P Fine… without further adieu, I give you _If_. :D

If

**Prologue**

12th Precinct

The precinct was vacant save for three detectives and one best-selling author. They were all sitting next to each other at Beckett's desk staring at the murder board full of pictures, facts, and dates. This case was getting on everyone's last nerve. It was late and they were all dead on their feet.

Ryan cut the silence, "How long have we been working on this case now?"

"What day is it?," Esposito turned to his partner with all seriousness.

"Cut it out, guys," Beckett pushed herself off of her desk, "We've gotta be missing something."

"We've been over every bit of information a million times over," Castle said.

"Yeah, and if I have to look at any of the files one more time, I'm gonna shoot something," Ryan commented.

"I'm going to get some coffee and see if it can't clear my head," Beckett pushed herself off the desk once again.

"Ditto," Ryan followed her. Castle and Esposito gave each other a look and did the same. Just as Esposito and Castle started for the break room, Beckett's phone started to ring.

"Tell Kate I'll get it," Castle told Esposito and answered the phone. Castle watched Esposito make his way into the break room and then turned his attention to the phone, "Hello? Beckett's phone, Castle speaking."

"_You know, with the amount of times you've been answering her phone, I might as well just call you," Lanie's comment came from the other end._

"But this is more fun. It's like a game, you'll never know which one of us you'll get," Castle smiled as he grew hopeful, "Did you find anything new for us?"

"_Unfortunately, no," Lanie replied as Castle's hopeful expression deflated, "I actually was wondering how you guys were doing. I know this case has been nothing but dead ends."_

"We're managing somehow," Castle replied, "We're just trying to clear our heads and see if we can't figure something out after stepping away from the case for a few minutes."

"_Good idea," Lanie nodded, "I'll let you go, but call if you find anything interesting. I may be able to back it up with some medical proof down here."_

"Will do," Castle replied as they both hung up. He placed the receiver back in its cradle before heading over to the break room to get some much needed coffee.

* * *

><p>While Castle was having his mini-conversation with Lanie, Beckett, Ryan, and Esposito were having their own in the break room.<p>

"I'm about ready to tell Montgomery to hand this case over to another detective, I can't look at it anymore," Ryan commented.

"Just be patient, Ryan, I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of it soon," Beckett told him to keep his faith, "We can only hit so many dead ends."

"We've all been pretty useless in this case," Esposito was siding with Ryan, "It's like we lost our groove."

"It does seem like that," Beckett was starting to agree and paused to take a sip from her coffee. Castle finally reached the break room, but before he could enter, the next thing Beckett said made him stop in his tracks, "Sometimes, I feel like we'd get more things done if we didn't have Castle following us around."

"What do you mean? Are you saying we'd be better off if he never came into our lives three years ago?," Ryan couldn't quite believe what he was hearing and neither could Castle. He looked down and time seemed to halt as he waited for Kate's reply.

"Truth be told, there are times I feel that way," Beckett nodded and took another sip of her coffee. Feeling a little defeated, Castle opted not to grab any coffee and slowly made his way back over to Beckett's desk with his hands in his pockets. He slumped down in his chair and looked longingly at his friends. He took a deep breath and looked down at his shoes.

Castle was so consumed with his thoughts back over at the white board he didn't hear the rest of what Kate had to say, "Then there are times where I don't think we'd solve some cases without him. He's become a real asset to our team."

"And a hell of a partner, right?," Esposito smirked at her.

"Yes he has," Beckett nodded. At Ryan and Esposito's smirks, she immediately remarked, "But if you tell him that…."

She left it as an open-ended threat. Ryan and Esposito simply gave each other smirks and left it at that. Beckett put her finished coffee/espresso cup down, "Come on. Let's go back out to Castle."

"Yo, Castle," Esposito made the author look up, "Everything okay? Who was on the phone?"

"You answered my phone?," Beckett asked.

"It was just Lanie," Castle sat up a little straighter and cleared his throat, "She wanted to know if we were any further on the case."

"Is everything okay, Castle? You look lost in thought," Beckett echoed Esposito's question.

"I, uh," Castle stood up. He didn't know how to phrase it, "I heard what you said in the break room."

"Oh," Beckett was taken aback. Ryan and Esposito exchanged looks and couldn't help but grin at the scene in front of them. Hopefully, it would lead to something good.

"Is it true?," Castle started and licked his lips, pausing for a second to gain some courage, "Do you really feel that way?"

"If I'm being completely honest, Castle," Beckett stepped forward, her arms folded, "Yes, I really do feel that way."

"Yeah and we do too," Ryan piped in and Esposito shot him a glare for ruining the small moment between their friends.

"Really?," Castle couldn't believe it, "Well, if that's the case then I think I'll just head home."

"You need a ride?," Beckett asked. He wasn't reacting the way she thought he would. She thought he'd be gloating at the fact that they truly valued him, instead he seemed agitated.

"No," Castle grabbed his jacket, "I wouldn't want to be any more trouble. See you."

"Castle?," Beckett called out to him as he made his way to the elevators. He heard her, but kept moving forward. If he turned around, she would've seen the glisten of tears starting to well up in his eyes.

"Let him be," Esposito said.

"It's probably just this case," Ryan agreed, "It's making everybody a little nuts."

"Right," Beckett wheeled her chair up to her desk and turned her attention to the evidence for their case. After a second, she looked back up toward the elevators and saw the doors close on Castle. She could've sworn he looked at her like she had just trampled on his heart, but that couldn't be. This case really was making everybody crazy.

* * *

><p>Outside the precinct…<p>

Castle decided to walk a little bit before hailing a cab to go home. It wasn't long before he was consumed with his thoughts, _"I can't believe it. They all think they would be better off if I never came into their lives? But I've helped them solve dozens of cases. I even helped Beckett find her mother's killer."_

_"Yeah, and opened up an old wound in the process," another voice in his head made a point._

"Shut up," Castle said out loud and started talking to himself, "I'm being ridiculous. They really don't feel that way. Maybe they just said that to mess with me."

He stopped in his tracks and turned around, "I have to straighten this out. I'll just ask them directly. They're my friends. They'll tell me the truth… right?"

Rick took a deep breath and started to stand a little straighter, talking himself into it, "I can do this."

HONK! HONK!

The sound of a truck blaring its horn at Castle took him out of his thoughts. The driver rolled down his window and started yelling profanities at him. Castle just kept apologizing and made his way back to the precinct. He made it to the doors of the building and looked at his watch. He had been walking around for almost an hour and based on the time, they could've called it a night.

"I guess I'll just talk to them about it in the morning," Castle said to himself and turned back around. This time he hailed a cab and told the driver to take him back to his loft.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The next day…<strong>_

Castle's Loft

"Morning, pumpkin," Castle greeted his daughter as she neared the kitchen.

"Morning," Alexis furrowed her eyebrows, "What are you doing up and dressed so early?"

"How do you mean?," Castle looked down at himself.

"You're out of your study, dressed, and eating an actual breakfast," Alexis said, "Are you feeling okay?"

"I just wanted to get an early start," Castle replied, "And I could use some of your wisdom, oh daughter of mine."

"Shoot," Alexis took a seat at the stool.

"I think everybody down at the precinct is starting to feel like they don't want me around anymore," Castle replied, leaning on the counter.

"Precinct?," Alexis was confused. Before she could reply any further, Martha entered the kitchen, "Richard, what are you doing up so early?"

"I'm not up any earlier than usual," Castle shook his head and opened the fridge, grabbing a water bottle.

"Dad, why are you talking about a precinct?," Alexis wanted to get back to the matter at hand, "Are you in some sort of trouble?"

"I hope not," Castle sighed, "I know what I can do. I can offer them all a peace offering of their favorite foods and coffees and we can get back to things the way they were… I'm sure I was just blowing things way out of proportion. Thank you, sweetheart."

He gave Alexis a kiss on the forehead and without saying another word, Castle was out the door to try to make things right, leaving a very confused mother and daughter in his wake.

"What on Earth was he talking about?," Martha asked.

"I have _no_ idea," Alexis shook her head, "I just hope he isn't in any type of trouble. There are only so many times a daughter should be expected to bust her father out of jail."

"Mm," Martha agreed, "You better keep your phone on in case he calls or texts you when you're with your friends. I'm off to the theater."

* * *

><p>12th Precinct<p>

"This thing happens once in a blue moon, huh?," Captain Roy Montgomery asked as Beckett finished telling him the last details of their case.

"You can say that again, sir," Beckett nodded, "For once, the killer wasn't connected to the victim in any way and it really was a… random wayward event."

"Take it easy, Beckett," Montgomery went back to his office.

"You okay?," Lanie asked as Kate came up to her.

"Yeah," Kate nodded, "I just can't believe that cases like the one we just had really exist."

"And it was all wrapped up before we technically have to clock in," Ryan came up to them, looking at his watch.

"Anybody up for some coffee and/or hot chocolate before we have to start work?," Esposito asked, looking at Lanie when he mentioned the hot chocolate.

"Why do you think _I'm_ here?," Lanie motioned for them to all get up. They started putting their jackets on when they saw a man struggling to balance bags of pastries and cups of what they could only assume were coffees coming their way.

"Here," Ryan jumped in and helped out.

"Thanks," Castle said.

"Can we help you?," Beckett walked up to him, arms folded.

"Actually, you guys can take your coffees and your bear-claws," Castle replied, "Here is a black coffee for Esposito, a coffee with two sugars for Ryan, and of course a grandé skim latté with two-pump sugar-free vanilla for the lovely Detective Kate Beckett."

"Lovely?," Lanie started to grow suspicious, hands on her hips.

"Lanie," Castle smiled, "Had I known you were here, I would've gotten you something… you know what? Here, just take my hot chocolate, I know how much you enjoy them."

"Um, thanks?," Lanie accepted the hot beverage from him. She turned to Kate, "Do you have something you'd like to share with the class, Kate? Like where you really went last night when you were 'taking a break from the case'?"

"I-I," Kate didn't know how to respond.

"What's going on?," Castle asked, looking between everyone.

"That's what I'd like to know," Beckett put her coffee down, "Who are you and how do you know our names let alone what we all like to drink?"

**TBC**

So? How is it so far? Interesting? I hope you guys like it. Castle's already in the world where they never met. Throughout the story there are little clues dropped as to what's really going on and all will make sense when I get toward the end of the story. Please tell me what you guys think! I'm really rather proud of how this story turned out, so I would really appreciate it if some reviews accumulated from it. :D Can't wait for the rest of Season 3 – the spoilers for it are out of this world! I decided to start posting today so we could have some Castle on this Castle-less Monday. ;) Fanfiction is definitely gonna be the thing tying me to sanity this summer. 8-)

Clois and Caskett Forever! :D


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Castle… nope, just a college student.

**A/N:** I'm glad you all seem to be enjoying this story. There are two things I think I should mention. One: how Castle was "transported" to the AU world will make sense toward the end of this story and I hope you all stick it out to the end to find out. Like I said last time, there are clues dropped throughout the story that hint toward what happened. I'm sure you guys will be able to figure it out. Two: This story does take place in this AU, it is in S3, most of their cases happened without Castle – I hope that makes sense. For anybody who's interested, my Physics final went well, at least I think so… anyway, I hope you all enjoy this next chapter and comment if you can! :)

_Previously in **If**…_

_12th Precinct_

_"This thing happens once in a blue moon, huh?," Captain Roy Montgomery asked as Beckett finished telling him the last details of their case._

_"You can say that again, sir," Beckett nodded, "For once, the killer wasn't connected to the victim in any way and it really was a… random wayward event."_

_"Take it easy, Beckett," Montgomery went back to his office._

_"You okay?," Lanie asked as Kate came up to her._

_"Yeah," Kate nodded, "I just can't believe that cases like the one we just had really exist."_

_"And it was all wrapped up before we technically have to clock in," Ryan came up to them, looking at his watch._

_"Anybody up for some coffee and/or hot chocolate before we have to start work?," Esposito asked, looking at Lanie when he mentioned the hot chocolate._

_"Why do you think **I'm** here?," Lanie motioned for them to all get up. They started putting their jackets on when they saw a man struggling to balance bags of pastries and cups of what they could only assume were coffees coming their way._

_"Here," Ryan jumped in and helped out._

_"Thanks," Castle said._

_"Can we help you?," Beckett walked up to him, arms folded._

_"Actually, you guys can take your coffees and your bear-claws," Castle replied, "Here is a black coffee for Esposito, a coffee with two sugars for Ryan, and of course a grandé skim latté with two-pump sugar-free vanilla for the lovely Detective Kate Beckett."_

_"Lovely?," Lanie started to grow suspicious, hands on her hips._

_"Lanie," Castle smiled, "Had I known you were here, I would've gotten you something… you know what? Here, just take my hot chocolate, I know how much you enjoy them."_

_"Um, thanks?," Lanie accepted the hot beverage from him. She turned to Kate, "Do you have something you'd like to share with the class, Kate? Like where you really went last night when you were 'taking a break from the case'?"_

_"I-I," Kate didn't know how to respond._

_"What's going on?," Castle asked, looking between everyone._

_"That's what I'd like to know," Beckett put her coffee down, "Who are you and how do you know our names let alone what we all like to drink?"_

Now in _If…_

**Chapter 1**

"Who am I?," Castle furrowed his brows with half a laugh. He looked around at all of his friends' confused faces. After a moment, he caught on, "Ohhhh, I get it. This is a little joke to get back at me from last night. Look, I'm sorry I just ran off like that, but I heard what you said and I guess I just acted on impulse."

"And exactly what happened last night?," Lanie stepped up next to Beckett, a sly grin appearing on her lips.

"Yeah, what happened?," Esposito looked to Beckett, just as curious as Lanie and Ryan who were giving identical expressions Kate's way.

"Guys, a joke's a joke," Castle said, "If this little skit is anything to go on, I can tell that you didn't mean what you said and it must've been some sort of misunderstanding. We were all tired and that case was giving us all a headache… speaking of which, where is it?"

"Where's what?," Beckett was beyond confused.

"Where's our case?," Castle went up to the blank whiteboard, "Did you guys solve it after I left last night?"

"All right, enough's enough," Beckett wasn't taking it anymore. This guy was starting to butt in on official police business, "Identify yourself immediately."

"Identify myself? You know me," Castle couldn't believe they were still going on with this joke, "Come on, I think you've taken this prank far enough."

"Why don't you humor us?," Esposito started getting just as agitated.

"All right," Castle figured there would be no harm in playing along, "I'm Rick Castle."

"Richard Castle, the author?," Lanie unfolded her arms.

"Yeah," Castle started growing a little afraid. They were taking this _way_ too far.

Lanie grabbed his hand and started shaking it, "Lanie Parish, Medical Examiner, I'm a _huge_ fan of your books. You know, you have a real gift with the details of death?"

"Okay, I'm officially freaked out now," Castle said as he let go of Lanie's hand.

"Oh, like you haven't come across more fanatic fans," Lanie got a little offended.

"Not that," Castle shook his head, "You guys are really acting like you've never met me before in your life."

"Maybe that's because we haven't," Ryan replied.

"Kate," Castle looked to her, starting to get a little frightened, "I think you can call off the gag now. It's being taken too far."

"I'm afraid, I don't know what you're talking about, um, Mr. Castle," Beckett tried to compose herself in front of her all-time favorite author.

"_Mr._ Castle?," Castle was beyond officially freaked out now, "Come on, guys. It's me… Castle. Your teammate, your friend, your shadow."

"I don't have a shadow," Beckett said.

"I don't believe this," Castle took out his phone and started scrolling through his pictures, "Look, look at this. See? We're all friends. I've been working with you guys for the past three years."

Beckett took his phone and found herself staring at a picture of her and the author joking around. She was playfully sticking her finger by her lips as if she was making a shushing noise and Castle had a small smile gracing his lips. His arm was out of frame, taking the picture of the two of them. The next picture was of her, Esposito, Ryan, Lanie, and Richard Castle all in Halloween costumes.

"This can't be real," Kate whispered to herself, but was loud enough for Castle to hear her.

"This is real," Rick assured her.

"Esposito, Ryan," Beckett called out for her fellow detectives and threw Castle's phone their way, "Could you two do me a favor and have these images proven fake for me? I don't have time for a practical joking best-selling author to waste my time."

"Practical joking?," Castle couldn't believe what was happening, "Okay, I must be dreaming."

"This is a police station," Beckett went into complete professional mode and got in Castle's face, "We do _actual_ work here. Now, if you've gotten bored writing and figured it might be fun to play a joke on the detectives down here, let me tell you right now that you've picked the wrong detectives to mess around with."

"I'm not messing around with you," Castle squeaked and Lanie hid a smile at the connotation, "And those pictures are _not_ fake."

"Okay, I don't have time for this," Beckett shook her head and went to her desk. Castle stood there in a stunned stupor.

"I don't know what to think," Lanie made her presence known once again, whispering to Beckett, leaning over her desk, "This might be a little fun. There aren't any new vics popping up right now. Let's see what the writer boy has to say."

Castle could not believe what was happening. This had to be some sort of bad dream. He pinched himself on the hand and nothing happened. As he was thinking, light reflected off of Beckett's watch, catching his eye and giving the writer an idea, "If you think the pictures are fakes, then at least let me prove to you that I know you another way."

Beckett looked to Lanie who simply gave her a look that said 'have some fun for once'. Beckett sighed and gave one more look to Lanie that seemed to say 'at least until the next vic shows' and gave in to Castle, "Fine, tell me something that will prove to me that you know me and not something that you can observe like our coffee drinking habits – which, I must say is very creepy."

"Your watch," Castle started.

"What about my watch?," Beckett grabbed it around her wrist.

"It's your father's," Castle replied.

"That doesn't prove anything, you can tell this is clearly a man's watch," Beckett stated and started pushing Castle toward the elevators, "Now, if you'll kindly leave, I'll cut you a break and pretend this never happened."

"It's for the life you saved," Castle said. Beckett stopped in her tracks. They only made it as far as a couple desks down. Lanie's curiosity was piqued and walked up closer to the duo.

"What did you just say?," Beckett said barely above a whisper.

"Your father's watch is for the life you saved," Castle knew he had her attention now, "And your mother's ring that you wear as a necklace every day is for the life you lost."

Kate absentmindedly reached for her necklace and started fingering the chain, "H-how?"

"I know you," Rick said and turned to Lanie, "I know you all, you've got to believe me."

"Beckett," Esposito made them all turn their heads toward him, "These pictures aren't fake… they're real."

"How can that be?," Ryan was just as confused as everyone else in the room.

"All right, follow me, Mr. Castle," Beckett beckoned him to follow her. Ryan, Esposito, and Lanie followed as well, but far enough behind where they could still hear them.

"If you're gonna do this, could you do me a favor and cut it out with the 'mister'?," Castle jogged up to her.

"You don't want me to call you 'Mr.' Castle?," Beckett turned her head as she still made her way to her destination.

"No, you usually just call me 'Castle' and I usually call you…," Castle started and stopped.

"Call me what?," Beckett stopped before the door to the interrogation room. The trio that was trailing behind them, stopped at a reasonable distance.

"I usually call you 'Beckett', 'Detective', 'Detective Beckett', or sometimes just 'Kate'," Castle finished.

"You can stick to 'Beckett', Castle," Beckett replied and opened the door to the interrogation room, motioning her head for him to go in first.

Castle took a seat and Beckett stayed standing for a minute, "Now, would you care to explain how you know all of these facts about us? About me?"

"I've been working with you guys for the past three years. I've even helped you guys solve some of your toughest cases," Castle replied, "I'm your shadow… and your partner."

"See, now I don't understand how that can be, Mr.… uh, Castle," Beckett finally took a seat, "I've never met you before."

"What do you guys think?," Castle leaned to the right in his chair looking towards the mirror that he knew led to the observation room.

Kate turned around, "Who are you talking to?"

"Esposito, Ryan, Lanie, and most probably the Captain too," Castle waved, "I'm sure they've already brought this situation to your attention by now, Roy."

"You-," Beckett started.

"Yes, I know there's an observation room behind the mirror," Castle nodded, "I've been on the other side of it numerous times looking in here. You know you guys should probably come in here."

A moment later, everybody who Castle said was in the observation room came into the interrogation room. Montgomery cut the silence, "All right, start from the beginning. You say you know us… how?"

"Can we go out to the bullpen? I feel like I'm being interrogated in here," Castle shifted in his seat.

"You are. Now spill," Esposito ordered.

"Right," Castle conceded. If this was the only way they were going to listen to him then so be it, "Three years ago there were these murders that were committed the way I kill people in my books and I stuck around for sought counsel."

"That never happened," Beckett shook her head.

"They were from my books: _Flowers for your Grave_, _Hell Hath No Fury_, and _Death of a Prom Queen_," Castle continued, "You mean to tell me that none of those murders ever happened?"

"Not in our district," Beckett shook her head.

"Anyway, after we solved the case, I stuck around because I was struck with inspiration for my new character," Castle said.

"You got inspiration to write about James-," Ryan started before Castle cut him off, "Ah ah! Don't ever say the name of that certain British spy. You'll jinx it. Wait… why are you even talking about him?"

"After you killed off Derrick Storm, you went on to write about Jame-," Beckett explained, "That certain British spy."

"No, I didn't," Castle shook his head.

"She should know, she's more of a fan of yours than me," Lanie muttered, but the acoustics in the interrogation room were so good, everybody heard her.

"Lanie," Beckett's cheeks grew a tinge of bright red.

"I know," Castle acted like it was no big deal and Beckett whipped her head around, shocked at the news. Castle kept on with his story, "I was struck with inspiration for my new character Nikki Heat."

"Nikki Heat?," Beckett raised her brow at the unfamiliar name.

"My character," Castle said, "My character based on you. I shadow you guys for research. You're all in my book. Lanie, you're Dr. Lauren Parry. Esposito, Ryan, you two are Ochoa and Raley aka "Roach" and Montgomery, you're Captain Montrose."

"We're all in a book?," Ryan was flattered. A small smile started to crawl on his lips.

"He named you two, 'Roach'," Lanie pointed out.

"Yeah, but we're still in a book," Ryan defended.

"You stay here a moment, Mr. Castle," Montgomery said and ushered everyone else out the door. Castle sighed and nodded as everybody herded out the door.

"This is crazy," Montgomery stated the obvious.

"You can say that again," Esposito agreed.

"Now, I don't want this interfering with our work, so I just say we play along with this until we figure out what his game is," Montgomery ordered.

"You mean, you're going to let a _civilian_ run around with us while we investigate homicides?," Beckett asked, "Don't you think that would raise some legal problems, sir?"

"I'm sure Mr. Castle's lawyers will take care of it," Montgomery shrugged, "He has the money for it and he assumes he's done this all before. If he becomes a liability, I'll see what the proper mental authorities can do about him."

"Right," Beckett gave a small nod, but Montgomery took it as her agreeing with him. He nodded back and went to his office. Beckett watched him leave, "Wait… what just happened?"

"I think you just agreed to have the writer tag along with you," Lanie stated.

Beckett sighed.

**TBC**

For those of you interested, here's the link (spaced out so you can see it, to see it, just take out the spaces) to the picture Beckett was looking at in Castle's phone. (It's actually some picture I found of Nathan and Stana that I thought was cute). h t t p : / / o i 5 2 . t i n y p i c . c o m / 2 0 h o w 0 4 . j p g

This story will have a regular murder in it in this AU world. And they'll start investigating it in the next chapter. Castle's got to regain everybody's trust, he'll be able to do it – he's Castle. ;) Don't worry, Castle's going to try to figure out what caused him to be in this world further along in the story. :) I hope things will make sense and if you're confused on anything (and if the answer isn't too spoilerly), I'll answer – just ask. :) Please comment! I hope you all liked how Castle convinced them he knew them.

Thank you to those of you who are simply just reading this story. You mean a lot to me too. :D

Clois and Caskett Forever! :D


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Castle… though I would love to meet the cast. ;) :P

**A/N:** This chapter is approximately seven and a quarter pages on MS Word. I hope that's long enough to quench some of your thirsts for this story. ;) For those of you who didn't see, I did well on my Physics final – I got 83% on my final and an 82% overall in the class! Woot! After thinking about it, I'm still not sure on an update schedule or if I'll even really have one, but you guys can be assured that there won't be too long of a wait between each… With that said, I hope you'll enjoy the next chapter and please leave a comment if you can!

_Previously in **If**…_

_"After you killed off Derrick Storm, you went on to write about Jame-," Beckett explained, "That certain British spy."_

_"No, I didn't," Castle shook his head._

_"She should know, she's more of a fan of yours than me," Lanie muttered, but the acoustics in the interrogation room were so good, everybody heard her._

_"Lanie," Beckett's cheeks grew a tinge of bright red._

_"I know," Castle acted like it was no big deal and Beckett whipped her head around, shocked at the news. Castle kept on with his story, "I was struck with inspiration for my new character Nikki Heat."_

_"Nikki Heat?," Beckett raised her brow at the unfamiliar name._

_"My character," Castle said, "My character based on you. I shadow you guys for research. You're all in my book. Lanie, you're Dr. Lauren Parry. Esposito, Ryan, you two are Ochoa and Raley aka "Roach" and Montgomery, you're Captain Montrose."_

_"We're all in a book?," Ryan was flattered. A small smile started to crawl on his lips._

_"He named you two, 'Roach'," Lanie pointed out._

_"Yeah, but we're still in a book," Ryan defended._

_"You stay here a moment, Mr. Castle," Montgomery said and ushered everyone else out the door. Castle sighed and nodded as everybody herded out the door._

_"This is crazy," Montgomery stated the obvious._

_"You can say that again," Esposito agreed._

_"Now, I don't want this interfering with our work, so I just say we play along with this until we figure out what his game is," Montgomery ordered._

_"You mean, you're going to let a **civilian** run around with us while we investigate homicides?," Beckett asked, "Don't you think that would raise some legal problems, sir?"_

_"I'm sure Mr. Castle's lawyers will take care of it," Montgomery shrugged, "He has the money for it and he assumes he's done this all before. If he becomes a liability, I'll see what the proper mental authorities can do about him."_

_"Right," Beckett gave a small nod, but Montgomery took it as her agreeing with him. He nodded back and went to his office. Beckett watched him leave, "Wait… what just happened?"_

_"I think you just agreed to have the writer tag along with you," Lanie stated._

_Beckett sighed._

Now in _If…_

**Chapter 2**

"Hey, writer boy," Lanie stuck her head in the interrogation room. Castle immediately stood up, "Yeah?"

"Looks like you're tagging along with Detective Beckett, but you have to deal everything out with your lawyers first," Lanie said.

"I've had all this straightened out for years," Castle said.

"Right," Lanie started to think that this author had really gone off the deep end, "But for the Captain's piece of mind, you should really do it again, just to be safe."

"Um, all right," Castle nodded and walked out the door with Lanie, "If a vic shows up while I'm down at my lawyer's, please have Beckett call me."

"We'll need your number," Lanie said.

"Right," Castle sighed, "Well then, I should probably get my phone back from Ryan and Esposito."

* * *

><p>Hours had passed and surprisingly no victims had shown up anywhere in the twelfth precinct's district. Lanie headed back down to the morgue to get ahead on some work while Beckett, Ryan, and Esposito got ahead on their paperwork. Castle even convinced his lawyer to let him sign the waivers to allow him to shadow his friends. As far as Castle was concerned, the whole world had gone nuts or had lost their memory. He just had to play along if he wanted to find out what happened. He got back to the precinct just as he saw Beckett exiting Montgomery's office.<p>

"I'm all set," Castle greeted Beckett.

"Set?," Beckett asked, as she pulled herself into her desk, continuing some of her paperwork.

"I saw my lawyer and I'm all set to follow you around again," Castle said and stuck his hands in his pockets.

"Tell me something," Beckett put her pen down and folded her arms on her desk, leaning toward Castle.

"Shoot," Castle smiled.

"Why do you think that you've been following us all around for the last couple of years? And how did you find out all that information on us?," Beckett asked.

"Because I _have_ been following you all around and you told me," Castle answered truthfully.

Before Beckett could say anything else, Ryan and Esposito appeared at the desk. Esposito spoke, "Lanie called, we've got a new vic."

Beckett got up and put on her jacket, as Castle did the same. She followed her friends down to the elevator to go to the crime scene with Castle on her tail.

"So, you're really going to follow us on this case?," Ryan asked Castle when they got on the elevator.

"It won't be any different than any other day," Castle said. He was going to find out what was going on if it was the last thing he did.

Ryan just nodded and shared a look with his partner. Once the elevator doors closed, Beckett rolled her eyes and sighed. This was going to be one long case.

* * *

><p>Crime Scene<p>

"I see we have an extra guest," Lanie greeted.

"Yup, he apparently got everything settled with his lawyers," Beckett said sarcastically, eyes wide. Then she decided it best to get directly to the matter at hand, "What've you got?"

The eyes of the victim stared blankly ahead. The side of her head was covered almost completely in blood and she was leaning against an empty dumpster. She was dressed somewhat formally and her hands were folded in her lap. She was barefoot with what appeared to be some dirt on the soles of her feet.

"Your specialty," Lanie replied, gesturing to the body, "We've got a freaky one."

"Beckett likes the weird and unusual cases," Ryan leaned over to Castle.

"I know," Castle said. This was going to be one long case. If he was going to prove to his friends that he knew what he was doing in this tag-along, he might as well get started and show them. He took the lead, "What's her name?"

"Anna Snow," Lanie answered, a little surprised at Castle's initiative to take the lead.

"COD?," Castle asked, walking around the body.

Lanie looked to Beckett as if asking permission to answer him or not. Beckett, Ryan, and Esposito looked just as shocked at Castle taking the lead as Lanie. She shrugged and motioned for Lanie to answer. All the while, Castle just waited for an answer, "Uh, it looks like she died from temporal hemorrhaging, not to mention the side of her head split open."

"That'd do it," Esposito commented.

She kneeled down and gestured to Anna's forehead where now they could see a red line where the blood originated from, "It looks like she fell on a sharp surface… or someone pushed her."

"They moved her," Castle observed. There was a lack of blood around her body on the ground.

"Yeah," Lanie said, "You really know this stuff."

"I should," Castle said, walking closer to the ME and the victim, "I've been following you all around for three years."

"Do you have a time of death?," Beckett asked, ignoring Castle's last comment. He was going to repeat that as many times as he thought necessary. Maybe if he was insistent enough, they'd believe him.

"I'd say anywhere between 10:30 and 12:30 last night," Lanie replied.

"How old was she?," Ryan asked as he wrote evidence down.

"Twenty-two years old," Lanie answered, standing back up, "She has a fiancée named Adam Hatch that lives in the upper-east side."

"Okay, I'm going to…," Beckett started and then looked to Castle and corrected herself, "_We're_ going to go check her fiancée out and you two, find out everything you can about Anna Snow."

"Got it," Ryan said.

Beckett headed back to her car with Castle faithfully following. Lanie turned to the boys, "Do you two think this writer boy is for real?"

"I don't know what to think," Esposito replied truthfully.

"Me either," Ryan shrugged, "but he does seem to know his way around a crime scene."

"Call us if you find anything interesting once you get her back to the lab," Esposito said.

"As always," Lanie nodded.

* * *

><p>Beckett's Car<p>

"You seemed to really know what you were doing back at the crime scene," Beckett started, her eyes focused ahead on the road.

"Yeah, well, I've been to enough of them with you," Castle smirked.

"Why do you keep on insisting that you've been following us all around when we _know_ you haven't?," Beckett asked, "I think I would've remembered an author shadowing me."

"Especially your favorite author," Castle teased.

Kate blushed a little and it didn't go unnoticed by Rick.

"I know you all think I'm crazy, but I remember shadowing you all and I even helped solve some of your toughest cases," Castle said, "I've even saved your life a couple times."

Kate shook her head. Reluctantly agreeing with Lanie's voice in her head about having fun for once, she went along with him, "You? You've saved my life? How?"

"Well, the first time was when I tackled you to the ground before you could get shot," Castle replied, counting on his fingers, "A big time was when I called you before a bomb went off in your apartment, then I shot a gun out of a mad man's hand that was about to shoot you. I tackled you again from getting shot in a warehouse as well as jumped on a man so he once again couldn't shoot you. And most recently, I kept you as warm as I could in a giant freezer so you wouldn't freeze to death and… stopped a nuclear explosion."

"You've got some imagination, Castle," Beckett laughed, with a small shake of her head.

"Yes I do, but that's not the point," Castle said, shifting in his seat so he could somewhat face her, "I'm telling you the truth. I don't know what happened, but it seems like you all forgot about me or I've somehow gone insane."

"I think it might be the latter," Beckett grinned.

Castle was cut off from his next comment by his cell phone ringing, "Hello?"

_"Dad? Where are you?," Alexis' voice was on the other line._

"Oh, hey, sweetheart," Castle smiled. Beckett turned her head at the term of endearment. Who was he talking to? What did she care? He was just an annoyance that she had to deal with for this case until they could figure out what was wrong with him.

_"Where are you?," Alexis asked again._

Castle opened his mouth to answer his usual 'With Beckett', but realized that if everybody at the precinct seemed to have forgotten about his shadowing, his daughter probably didn't either. It would also explain his mother and daughter's strange comments to him that morning, so he replied, "Uh, I'm doing research for one of my books."

_"You're not with any of your sources that have threatened to kill you, are you?," Alexis asked, ever the concerned daughter._

"No, I'm fine," Castle replied.

_"When are you coming home?," Alexis wondered, sitting on the couch._

"I'll be home later," Castle answered and looked over at Beckett who turned back to look at the road from looking at him. He turned his attention back to Alexis on the phone, "I'll tell you all about the research later, okay, sweetheart?"

_"All right, just be careful," Alexis knew her dad, "Love you."_

"Love you too," Castle smiled and they both hung up. He looked over to Beckett and could read her expression, "That was my daughter."

"I didn't ask," Beckett said, looking ahead.

"You weren't asking very loudly," Castle smirked, feeling a sense of déjà vu.

* * *

><p>Upper-East Side<p>

"You are here only because I have been ordered to have you follow me. Understand? And when we get inside, could you do me a favor and not speak?," Beckett asked, "I'm sure that's how it worked in your little dream world of shadowing me, right?"

"In theory," Castle replied, as they started walking up to the apartment building where Anna Snow's fiancée lived.

"What do you mean 'in theory'?," Beckett turned to him, as she opened the door.

"Well, you always tell me not to say anything, but I always do and more often than not, it usually leads to a break in the case," Castle answered.

"So, in other words, you're telling me it's pointless to try to tell you to not talk to Anna's fiancée? Is that what you're saying?," Beckett asked as she pushed the button for the elevator.

"Yup," Castle said, "Just like it's pointless to tell me to stay in the car, for future reference."

"Noted," Beckett nodded as the elevator arrived. They rode on the elevator in comfortable silence until they reached Adam's floor. The duo made their way over to his apartment and Beckett knocked on the door.

A man with brunette hair and a goatee to match answered the door, "Yes? Can I help you?"

"Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD," Beckett showed him her badge, "I need to speak with you about your fiancée Anna Snow."

"Is she okay?," Adam asked, as he widened the door, letting the detective and the author inside.

"I'm afraid we found her body this morning," Beckett replied, turning to face Adam.

"Body?," Adam, looked blankly ahead and slowly sat down in a chair.

"When's the last time you saw her?," Castle asked.

"I-I saw her yesterday morning," Adam replied, "We were going to take a little vacation this weekend, get away from everything… before the wedding."

"I'm sorry," Beckett gave her condolences. She really did hate this part, "What happened the last time you saw her?"

"Everything was normal," Adam shrugged, "We had breakfast at our usual diner, _Linda's_ and we both headed off to work."

"Did she seem off at all?," Castle asked. Beckett looked to him and he gave her a look to tell her he told her he wouldn't be quiet.

"No," Adam shook his head and then furrowed his brows, "Wait, actually, there might have been one thing."

"What thing?," Beckett prodded.

"She seemed nervous about something," Adam replied, "And not her usual nervousness about planning the wedding, it was something else."

"Any idea what it was?," Beckett urged him to continue.

"No, but when we had our breakfast, she seemed in a hurry," Adam said, "Like she had to be somewhere and she was trying to get rid of me. I didn't think anything of it at the time. I just thought she had an appointment with the baker or the florist or another detail for our wedding before she had to go to work."

"Do you have any idea where she went after she had breakfast with you?," Castle asked, hands clasped, as he leaned toward Adam.

"I figured she just went to work or to an appointment with someone for our wedding," Adam said again.

"You don't seem to know a whole lot about the details for your own wedding," Castle observed and Beckett gave him a look.

"That's because Anna didn't want me to," Adam gave a small smile, tears starting to form in his eyes, "She wanted to plan it all herself, she wanted her dream wedding and told me that I shouldn't have to worry about anything…"

His voice started to crack, "And now she's dead."

"Where did Anna work?," Beckett asked.

"Uh," Adam composed himself, "She worked as a secretary at _Oakland Elementary School_."

"Thank you, Adam," Beckett stood up and shook Adam's hand. "If you remember anything else, or if you just want to talk, call me."

She handed him a card and headed out the door, "Come on, Castle."

Castle started to follow her, but turned around and asked Adam another question, "This might seem like an odd question, but when you had breakfast with Anna and you said she seemed nervous, was she focused on anyone or anything in the restaurant?"

"Castle," Beckett called for him to come with her and not bother their witness anymore.

Adam looked down, thinking, "Now that you mention it, she did keep looking over at the table across from us."

"Who was at the table?," Castle asked.

"I don't know," Adam shook his head, "I didn't recognize any of them."

"Was there anything about them that stood out?," Castle asked.

Adam shook his head, "Not that I can think of."

"Thank you, Mr. Hatch," Castle nodded and exited the apartment with a stunned Beckett behind him.

"Is that what you meant about usually leading to a break in the case?," Beckett jerked her thumb back at Adam's apartment.

"Exactly," Castle smiled.

* * *

><p><strong>TBC<strong>

The start of a new case – Castle is going to have to prove himself. I hope I do this case justice. Even though this is my second Castle story, this is my first time writing a full-fledged-episode-type murder and I hope I do okay. Please tell me what you think! Did you like their little conversation in Beckett's car? The "déjà vu" comment about 'not asking very loudly' – I thought it'd be a nice touch to throw lines in there from previous episodes. ;) Please comment!

Thank you to those of you who are simply just reading this story. You mean a lot to me too. :D

Clois and Caskett Forever! :D


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Castle… not rich at all…

**A/N:** Woo! Good to know that you guys are still enjoying the story! I can't believe how many reviews have accumulated already (over 100) and just from the prologue and first two chapters. :) There is a hint in this chapter as to what's going on, though I figure most, if not all of you, have an idea of what happened already – just not the details of it. ;) I hope you all enjoy this next chapter and please leave a comment if you can! :D Without further adieu, here's chapter 3 of _If_…

_Previously in **If**…_

_"You don't seem to know a whole lot about the details for your own wedding," Castle observed and Beckett gave him a look._

_"That's because Anna didn't want me to," Adam gave a small smile, tears starting to form in his eyes, "She wanted to plan it all herself, she wanted her dream wedding and told me that I shouldn't have to worry about anything…"_

_His voice started to crack, "And now she's dead."_

_"Where did Anna work?," Beckett asked._

_"Uh," Adam composed himself, "She worked as a secretary at **Oakland Elementary School**."_

_"Thank you, Adam," Beckett stood up and shook Adam's hand. "If you remember anything else, or if you just want to talk, call me."_

_She handed him a card and headed out the door, "Come on, Castle."_

_Castle started to follow her, but turned around and asked Adam another question, "This might seem like an odd question, but when you had breakfast with Anna and you said she seemed nervous, was she focused on anyone or anything in the restaurant?"_

_"Castle," Beckett called for him to come with her and not bother their witness anymore._

_Adam looked down, thinking, "Now that you mention it, she did keep looking over at the table across from us."_

_"Who was at the table?," Castle asked._

_"I don't know," Adam shook his head, "I didn't recognize any of them."_

_"Was there anything about them that stood out?," Castle asked._

_Adam shook his head, "Not that I can think of."_

_"Thank you, Mr. Hatch," Castle nodded and exited the apartment with a stunned Beckett behind him._

_"Is that what you meant about usually leading to a break in the case?," Beckett jerked her thumb back at Adam's apartment._

_"Exactly," Castle smiled._

Now in _If…_

**Chapter 3**

12th Precinct

"Yo, got Anna's financials," Esposito held up a manila folder as he and Ryan approached Beckett desk.

"Lay it on me," Beckett motioned for him to tell her.

Before he could say anything, they all turned their heads to see Castle pulling a chair up to Beckett's desk. The chair made a loud, irritating, screeching noise until he brought the chair up to her desk and sat down, "Sorry, just missed my chair."

Beckett rolled her eyes and looked back up to the boys, "What've you got?"

"Nothing too exciting, unfortunately," Ryan replied, "Nothing raised a flag. All the major purchases were items for her wedding."

"You mean her biggest expense was her wedding dress?," Castle asked, "I know how expensive that can be."

"Yeah," Ryan nodded, "In fact, that was the last big payment… her wedding dress and an expensive one at that – just about twenty grand, which she bought two weeks ago."

"Anything suspicious in her fiancée's account?," Beckett looked to Esposito.

"Nada," Esposito shook his head, "He hasn't even touched his account in months."

"Don't you think _that's_ unusual?," Castle commented.

"Not really, Adam made it pretty clear that Anna wanted to deal with all the wedding details," Beckett said, "And that includes all the purchases."

"Yeah, but nothing in _months_? Not even a package of gum?," Castle said, "That does seem a little off."

"We'll have to look into their lives a little more before we can make any definitive conclusions, Castle," Beckett said.

"Fine," Castle said and then muttered under his breath, "And then you'll see, I'm right."

"Anyway," Beckett ignored him, "What else did you two find out about Anna Snow?"

"Well, we found out that she was a secretary at _Oakland Elementary School_," Ryan started to read off of his notepad.

"So did we," Castle nodded. They each glared at him, Castle mouthed a sorry, and motioned for Ryan to continue, "And check this out, the day she was murdered, she didn't show up for work."

"Where did she go?," Castle asked.

"That's what we have to find out," Beckett said, "Did you find anyone who might be able to shed some light on where she went?"

"We did in fact," Esposito said, "She went to a dress fitting at her wedding boutique. We've got the saleswoman, Martina Mate, in the interrogation room."

* * *

><p>"Would one of you kindly tell me what I'm doing here?," Martina asked Beckett and Castle when they entered the room.<p>

"You don't know why you were brought here?," Beckett asked, as she took a seat across from her.

"No, though I can only assume it probably has something to do with one of my soon-to-be brides," Martina said.

"And why would you think that?," Castle cocked his head to the side.

"They're always getting into trouble," Martina replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What do you mean they always get in trouble?," Beckett scooted closer into the table.

"They find themselves getting arrested," Martina answered, "More times than others, it's for stealing little things from other stores for their wedding that were "too expensive" at my boutique."

"Well, you are right about one thing," Beckett started, "You are here because of one of your clients… Anna Snow ring any bells, Ms. Mate?"

"Yeah," Martina nodded as her entire demeanor changed, "but she wasn't one of my troublesome clients. Is she okay?"

"She's dead," Castle stated.

"Dead?," Martina looked back and forth between Castle and Beckett, "What do you mean she's dead?"

"She's dead," Castle said again, "She's no longer living… she was murdered."

"Murdered?," Martina repeated.

"Do you have a hearing problem?," Castle asked.

Beckett gave him a small smack in the chest before turning to their witness, "Ms. Mate…"

"Please, call me Marty," Marty interrupted her.

"Okay, Marty, when was the last time you saw Anna?," Beckett clasped her hands together. She wanted to make sure her story lined up with what Ryan and Esposito had said.

"The last I saw her was late yesterday afternoon at my boutique," Marty replied.

"What was she doing there?," Castle asked.

"She was there for a fitting for her wedding dress," Marty answered. Castle and Beckett looked to each other – so far, so good.

"Her twenty grand wedding dress?," Castle nodded.

"Twenty grand?," Marty furrowed her brows.

"Her dress didn't cost that much?," Beckett asked.

"No," Marty laughed while shaking her head, "No, none of my dresses are _quite_ that expensive. Her dress, if my memory serves me correctly was only about five thousand."

"Did she buy anything else from your boutique that could've added up to twenty thou?," Castle tried.

"Not with my approval," Marty shook her head.

"Then what was the other fifteen thousand for?," Beckett whispered to Castle. Castle shook his head and widened his eyes. He had no idea.

"And where did she go between breakfast with Adam in the morning and the bridal shop in late afternoon?," Castle added to the growing questions.

"Am I free to go now?," Marty leaned forward.

* * *

><p>"Guess what?," Beckett came up to Ryan and Esposito's desks.<p>

Before either one of them could reply, Castle came up behind her with the answer, "Anna's dress only cost five thousand, not twenty thousand."

"Where'd she get the other fifteen grand?," Ryan asked rhetorically, "In her financials, all her purchases appeared to go to her wedding."

"Maybe she cheated the system?," Castle suggested.

"And what did the other fifteen grand go to?," Esposito asked.

"Look closer at Anna's life, if we look hard enough, I'm sure something will come up," Beckett said, "Castle and I are going to head to _Oakland Elementary School_ and see what we can find out there."

Ryan and Esposito nodded and watched them take off. Ryan turned to Esposito, "Is it just me or has Beckett been less intense for this case?"

"Maybe Castle has tamed Beckett," Esposito teased, "Too bad he won't be sticking around for long."

* * *

><p><em>Oakland Elementary School<em>

"Hello, could I please speak to Principal Carlson, please?," Beckett came up to the front desk.

"Do you have an appointment?," the woman asked.

"I think he'll see me," Beckett stated as she held up her badge.

"I'll let him know you're here," the woman said.

"I feel like I'm in school again," Castle commented.

"Why am I not surprised that you got sent to the principal's office a lot?," Beckett grinned, shaking her head, "You like to get in trouble, don't you?"

"For your information, I wasn't sent to the principal's office all the time for getting in trouble," Castle defended himself, "I went to the principal's office a lot because when I was a kid, I used to get sick often."

"Oh," Beckett felt a little embarrassed, "Sorry."

"Principal Carlson will see you now," the woman told Castle and Beckett who promptly got up and entered the office.

The office was typical of that for a principal. Books lined the shelves everywhere and there were a couple of plants spaced around accordingly. There were various toys around the office as well for whenever some students had to stay in the office when waiting for their parents to come pick them up. There were also two seats across the desk from where Principal Carlson was now standing. Carlson looked to be a slightly gray-haired balding man with a welcoming appearance. As they came in the office, Castle accidentally knocked over a potted plant near the door.

"Castle," Beckett chided and gave an apologetic smile to the principal.

"Sorry," Castle turned red, "I guess I'm a bit of a klutz today."

"It's okay," Principal Carlson, assured him, coming around his desk.

"Castle, you've got to come back to me," he heard Beckett say as she started helping him pick up the plant.

"What did you just say?," Castle whipped his head up. Her tone of voice didn't sound like she was talking about the plant.

"I said, you've got to bring it back to me," Beckett repeated and helped place the potted plant back in its original spot. Castle shook his head. He could've sworn she had said something else and her tone of voice was different. He must've just misheard her. Weird.

"Is there anything I can help you with?," Principal Carlson asked, getting down to business.

"Yes, I… uh, we would like to talk to you about your secretary Anna Snow," Beckett corrected herself.

"I heard what happened," Carlson nodded, "What can I tell you about her?"

"You can start by telling us the last time you saw her," Castle said.

"Two days ago," Carlson replied, after thinking a moment.

"She didn't come in for work yesterday?," Beckett wanted to confirm it, "Did she call in sick?"

"No actually," Carlson shook his head and walked back around to his desk. He gestured for Castle and Beckett to sit down and they did just that, "I grew a little concerned. Anna was never the type of person to not show up to work and not call."

"What'd you do?," Castle asked.

"I wanted to make sure she was all right, so I sent her friend Sam to her apartment to see what was wrong," Carlson told them.

"How do we get in contact with this Sam?," Beckett asked.

"She's the one who let you two in here," Carlson said.

"Was Anna acting out of character at all these past couple of weeks?," Beckett dug a little deeper.

Carlson shook his head, "No, she was just as hard-working as usual. In fact, she worked a little harder than usual because she was going to be off soon for her honeymoon."

"Any unusual calls? Anything that could've happened to her that you noticed?," Castle tried.

"No-," Carlson started to shake his head and thought for a second, "Wait, maybe there was something to that."

"What?," Castle and Beckett asked in unison.

Carlson looked a little amused at their timing and explained himself, "I didn't think of it as anything at the time, but there was this one call two days ago."

"What happened?," Beckett leaned forward.

"She had this phone call," Carlson started to explain, "At first I thought she was just trying to calm down a parent, she's done that before. But I think it was more than that."

"What did she say?," Castle prompted.

"I really couldn't make much out," Carlson shook his head, "I-"

"Well, what do you remember?," Beckett encouraged him, "Anything at all could be helpful, Mr. Carlson."

"She was saying something about meeting someone," Carlson said after a second of hesitation.

"Meeting someone?," Beckett asked, "Any idea who?"

"I don't know," Carlson shrugged, "That's what it sounded like to me. Like I said, at first I thought she was talking to a parent, trying to calm them down. She was talking about children, but then I thought I heard her say she would meet them."

"Children?," Castle asked to make sure he heard correctly.

"That's what I said," Carlson nodded, "I try not to eavesdrop on my secretary's conversations unless something needs to be brought to my attention. I'm a very busy man."

"Well, the information you've given us was very helpful, Mr. Carlson," Beckett stood up and shook his hand, "If you remember anything else or if you can think of anything else you forgot to mention, just give me a call."

"I will," Carlson nodded, "Ever since we found out what happened to Anna, we've been getting calls from parents concerned about their children's safety."

"We're doing everything we can to find her killer," Beckett assured him.

"You can tell all your concerned parents that NYPD's finest is on the job," Castle said, "Trust me, I know."

"Thank you," Carlson nodded to Castle as he shook his hand. Beckett looked to Castle, a little taken aback by his statement. Was he just complimenting the police department or her?

Once they exited the office, Castle gave Beckett a look and motioned with his eyes to Sam. Beckett immediately caught on to his meaning and went up to her desk, "Excuse me, Sam?"

"Yes?," Sam looked up.

"Could you please come with us?," Beckett asked, "It's to our understanding you were in contact with Anna yesterday."

"Only to check on her when she didn't come in," Sam nodded.

"We just want to get some information," Beckett said, "If you come down to the station, I promise you, you won't be there long."

"Uh, yeah, anything I can do to help," Sam said and turned to yet another secretary in the office asking if they could cover for her and let Mr. Carlson know where she went.

* * *

><p><strong>TBC<strong>

Did you guys catch the hint? I do think it's fairly obvious what's happened, but I do hope that you all will continue to keep reading and enjoy the ride. :) I hope this investigation is flowing nicely and has the feel of an episode. Anybody like the small heart-to-heart between Caskett before they went in to see the principal? It seemed like something they'd say to each other in the show. I hope everybody is still enjoying the story. Please leave a comment if you can. They all bring a smile to my face.

Thank you to those of you who are simply just reading this story. You mean a lot to me too. :D

Clois and Caskett Forever! :D


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** Wait, there was some sort of idea that _I_ own Castle? Now _that's_ funny… nope, still don't own it. :P

**A/N:** I _was_ gonna update either tomorrow or Monday, but decided – eh, you guys have waited long enough. ;) So, I'm updating now. :D It is great to see that so many of you are still enjoying the story.

To answer some questions, about the AU world, the "hints" will tell you what is happening in the real universe. Castle will "investigate" a little about why he's in this AU, but not too extensively. I felt like the story had a better flow with Castle helping them investigate the murder instead of him just trying to figure out what happened to him. Also, there were some reviewers that brought up a valid point about how the Beckett who hadn't met Castle would be less willing to have him shadow her, but once you guys see how he's in this AU world, it'll make more sense and if not, I'll answer all questions and explain things. :) Okay, okay, enough with my rambling, right? You guys wanna read the next chapter… here you go:

_Previously in **If**…_

_"We're doing everything we can to find her killer," Beckett assured him._

_"You can tell all your concerned parents that NYPD's finest is on the job," Castle said, "Trust me, I know."_

_"Thank you," Carlson nodded to Castle as he shook his hand. Beckett looked to Castle, a little taken aback by his statement. Was he just complimenting the police department or her?_

_Once they exited the office, Castle gave Beckett a look and motioned with his eyes to Sam. Beckett immediately caught on to his meaning and went up to her desk, "Excuse me, Sam?"_

_"Yes?," Sam looked up._

_"Could you please come with us?," Beckett asked, "It's to our understanding you were in contact with Anna yesterday."_

_"Only to check on her when she didn't come in," Sam nodded._

_"We just want to get some information," Beckett said, "If you come down to the station, I promise you, you won't be there long."_

_"Uh, yeah, anything I can do to help," Sam said and turned to yet another secretary in the office asking if they could cover for her and let Mr. Carlson know where she went._

Now in _If…_

**Chapter 4**

Castle's Loft

"Hey, Gram," Alexis greeted when she saw Martha come through the door. She was on the couch doing some homework and listening to her iPod.

"Hey, kiddo," Martha smiled, closing the door behind her, "Where's your father? In his study?"

"No," Alexis shook her head, "The last I heard from him, he said he was out researching for one of his books."

"_Agent Under Fire_?," Martha asked, "He finished it, why would he be doing more research on it?"

"I don't know," Alexis shook her head, "Maybe he's started another one. Though to be honest, he's seemed pretty bored with Bond lately."

"Your father's been bored with his books ever since he killed off Derrick Storm," Martha stated and took a seat next to her granddaughter, "and it's starting to reflect in the reviews."

"Maybe he just needs inspiration for a new character," Alexis suggested, "Maybe that's what he's doing. This morning he mentioned a precinct."

"A precinct?," Martha furrowed her brows.

"Yeah, it was before you came downstairs for breakfast," Alexis started to explain, "But the way he was talking about it, it seemed like he had been there before."

"He has been acting strangely today," Martha agreed, "Maybe the precinct isn't for research and something else is going on."

"Do you think he's in some sort of trouble?," Alexis grew a little worried, sitting up straighter. She took her earphones out.

"I don't know," Martha said.

"I don't know about you, but I want to find out," Alexis got up, leaving her books behind.

"Where are _you_ going?," Martha looked up.

"To find out what's going on with Dad. He mentioned a precinct. Maybe he's at the closest one to us – the Twelfth," Alexis said, "Plus, I want to make sure he didn't get himself arrested for anything as crazy as stealing a police horse in the nude… again. You coming?"

Martha got up and ushered Alexis out the door. They were on their way to the Twelfth to see if they could make heads or tails of Castle's odd behavior.

* * *

><p>12th Precinct<p>

"So after your boss told you to find Anna, what did you do?," Beckett asked Sam. Beckett and Castle were talking with her in the room they usually reserved for talking with family members of the victims.

"I went to go find Anna," Sam replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Did you?," Beckett cocked her head to the side.

"Yeah, she was in her apartment," Sam said, "It looked to me like she was just playing hooky."

"Was that what she was doing?," Castle asked.

"She looked really busy," Sam said, "There was a crap-load of paper strewn all over her apartment."

"Wedding preparations?," Beckett tried.

"At first that's what I thought it was, but I don't think she was working on details for her wedding," Sam shook her head.

"What was she doing then?," Castle shifted in his seat and inadvertently scooted closer to Beckett. Their knees were practically touching.

"Of what I could see on the papers, there was a bunch of dates," Sam furrowed her brows as she recalled the information.

"Dates?," Beckett asked, "Could you see what they were for?"

"They were from a long time ago, I could tell you that," Sam replied.

"A long time ago? You mean like a couple of years?," Castle wanted her to clarify.

"No, I mean like twenty years ago," Sam emphasized.

"Were you able to see anything else on the pages besides the dates?," Beckett hoped.

"No," Sam shook her head, "I told her I was there because Principal Carlson wanted to make sure she was okay after she didn't show up to work. Once I saw she was fine and apparently just playing hooky, she told me to just tell Carlson she had a family emergency and she was sorry she forgot to call in."

"Is that what you did?," Castle asked.

"Yeah, that was the last time I saw her," Sam said and looked down. The fact that Anna was really dead started to hit her.

"What time was this?," Beckett asked so they could get the timeline straight.

"Uhh, I'd say around noon or maybe one," Sam replied, thinking out loud.

"You're not sure on the exact time?," Castle asked.

"I just know it was around lunch," Sam shrugged.

"So she was at her apartment around lunchtime and the bridal shop late afternoon," Beckett turned to Castle, "So where was she in between the diner and her apartment and where was she when she was killed?"

"I don't know," Castle shook his head and looked to Sam once again, "By any chance, do you know if Anna had a lot of money?"

"How do you mean?," Sam was confused, "She was a secretary in an elementary school. That doesn't exactly scream 'money', does it?"

"I mean, do you know if she came from money?," Castle explained himself.

"She didn't really come from anything," Sam shook her head, "She didn't know her biological parents, jumped from foster parent to foster parent until she was eighteen."

* * *

><p>The Bullpen<p>

Ryan was drawing on the murder board, posting pictures, and listing everything they knew about Anna Snow thus far. He started to draw the timeline when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder, "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, I'm looking for my Dad," Alexis stated.

"Is he missing?," Ryan asked, going into detective mode.

"Quite the contrary," Martha said behind Alexis, "We think he may be here."

"Is your dad Richard Castle?," Ryan asked.

"Yeah," Alexis nodded, "Is he okay? Where is he?"

"He's in the other room with Detective Beckett," Ryan gestured with his head to the room Castle and Beckett were in, "They're talking about a case."

"Why is my Dad in there then?," Alexis started to get worried and fired off questions at Ryan, "What happened? Is he hurt? How bad is it? Did he witness something? Did he-?"

"He's fine," Ryan cut her off, "He's uh… he's assisting us with this case."

"What do you mean he's assisting you?," Martha asked.

"He came in here this morning acting like he knew all of us," Ryan started to explain, "After some heavy debate, we just agreed for him to help us on this one case until we could figure out his game."

"You're letting a _civilian_ run around and help with a police investigation?," Alexis couldn't believe it.

"He took care of everything with his lawyers," Ryan said, feeling a little uncomfortable under Alexis' accusatory stare, "He's under the impression that he's done all this before, that he's been shadowing us for three years."

"Can I talk to him?," Alexis folded her arms.

* * *

><p>"Thank you for your time, Sam," Beckett stood up and shook her hand. Sam turned to Castle and shook his hand as well and then headed out the door. Beckett turned to Castle, "What do you think those dates were about?"<p>

"Maybe she was researching something that happened to her when she was younger," Castle theorized, "Sam said that she was adopted… maybe she wanted to find her biological parents, see what happened to them or if they're still alive."

"Yeah," Beckett nodded. Castle could practically see the wheels turning in her head, "And what about the mysterious fifteen thousand? Where'd that money come from and how did she use it?"

Before Castle could reply, Ryan poked his head in, "Sorry to interrupt, guys, but Castle's daughter is here."

"Alexis?," Castle's stance immediately changed, "She okay?"

"Yeah," Ryan assured him, "She's just looking for you."

Castle and Beckett exited the room and found Martha and Alexis standing impatiently by Beckett's desk, "Dad, what are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?," Castle asked, "I thought you were hanging out with your friends at the mall today… and the last time I checked, I thought I was the parent."

"I was at the mall," Alexis said, "but I came home early to finish up some homework and studying. I've got a test tomorrow."

"Richard, why are you here bothering these detectives?," Martha asked.

"I'm helping them with the case," Castle said.

"Why?," Alexis was confused.

"That's what I've been asking myself," Beckett muttered.

"I uh," Castle had to think quickly on his feet, "I got inspiration for a new character from Detective Beckett here."

"Just like that?," Alexis didn't quite believe him, "How did your paths even cross?"

Castle looked to Beckett for some help, but she just gave him a look that said he was on his own and Ryan gave him a duplicate expression. After a second of hesitation, Castle came up with an explanation, "Detective Beckett once stood in line to get my autograph for one of my books and I remembered her story… got struck with inspiration."

"What?," Kate and Alexis asked at the same time with two different tones. Alexis's tone was one of disbelief and Kate's was one of shock.

"So, you're here to help with a case because you found a new character in her from a time she got your autograph?," Alexis pointed at Beckett, "You're gonna write about a detective?"

"Yeah," Castle nodded, "And I have to do research."

"But do you have to be here all day?," Alexis asked.

"If you want to take him home, I would not object," Beckett interjected.

"Yeah, I think we should," Alexis nodded, acting like the parent, "You've been here all day, right? That's enough research for today."

"But, uh, I," Castle stuttered and looked back to Beckett as Alexis and Martha started leading him away. Beckett shook her head amused and turned to Ryan, telling him about what they found out. Castle stopped his mother and daughter before they got to the elevators, "I have to stay."

"Why?," Martha wondered, "The most research I've seen you do are a couple hours of interviews. I've never seen you spend a whole day somewhere."

"I need to stay," Castle repeated, "I know this sounds weird, but I've been doing this."

"Doing what?," Alexis was confused.

"I've been shadowing these detectives," Castle replied and gestured to said detectives who were still talking about the case, "I've been following them around for the past three years."

"That Detective Ryan said you said that," Alexis said, "Why do you think you've been following them around? Is that why you mentioned the precinct this morning?"

"Yes," Castle was happy he was finally getting through to somebody, "Last night we were working on a case that was nothing but dead ends. I overheard them talking about how they thought they'd be better off if they never met me and the next thing I know, today they have no idea who I am."

"Dad, that's crazy," Alexis shook her head, "I think your imagination has finally gone into overdrive."

"Let's just go home and talk about this, okay, Richard?," Martha suggested. Castle looked longingly back at Beckett and Ryan. Esposito was coming over to the board now. Martha noticed, "Come on, you can always come back later, right?"

"I guess so," Castle conceded, "Maybe I can find out what's going on and see how the world went mad."

"Right," Martha humored him.

Back over at Beckett's desk, Beckett watched Castle leave with his family. She found herself still staring in his direction after the elevator doors closed. Esposito brought her back to reality, "Missing your boy already?"

"What?," Beckett came out of her small self-induced trance.

"Missing Castle already?," Esposito repeated, a teasing smirk appeared on his lips.

"No," Beckett scoffed, "We might be able to get some real work done now… Did you find any more valuable information on Anna Snow?"

* * *

><p><strong>TBC<strong>

Alexis and Martha have joined in on the fun now! :P I told you guys he was going to try and research what has happened, he'll be doing that a little bit in the next chapter… did you guys like how I linked the trailer that Christy made to the story? I figured they should be as closely connected as possible – so I made the Bond book the name of the one from the trailer. Coming up is also a scene from the trailer too. So, I hope you all are still enjoying the ride! Please comment if you can! I truly do appreciate them all! :D :D

Thank you to those of you who are simply just reading this story. You mean a lot to me too. :D

Clois and Caskett Forever! :D


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Castle… sorry, but these amazing characters belong to the genius that is Andrew W. Marlowe.

**A/N:** Wow, how great was _To Love And Die In LA_? It was amazing. To celebrate the epicness that was that episode, I've decided to update today! :D Now, I have a little announcement about the _next_ update… since chapters 6 and 7 are pretty short, I'm going to post them together in a double-update. I'm sure you all don't mind. ;) Until then, I hope you enjoy Chapter 5 and some daddy/daughter bonding as well as the scene from the trailer! Please comment if you can! 8-)

_Previously in **If**… _

_"I need to stay," Castle repeated, "I know this sounds weird, but I've been doing this."_

_"Doing what?," Alexis was confused._

_"I've been shadowing these detectives," Castle replied and gestured to said detectives who were still talking about the case, "I've been following them around for the past three years."_

_"That Detective Ryan said you said that," Alexis said, "Why do you think you've been following them around? Is that why you mentioned the precinct this morning?"_

_"Yes," Castle was happy he was finally getting through to somebody, "Last night we were working on a case that was nothing but dead ends. I overheard them talking about how they thought they'd be better off if they never met me and the next thing I know, today they have no idea who I am."_

_"Dad, that's crazy," Alexis shook her head, "I think your imagination has finally gone into overdrive."_

_"Let's just go home and talk about this, okay, Richard?," Martha suggested. Castle looked longingly back at Beckett and Ryan. Esposito was coming over to the board now. Martha noticed, "Come on, you can always come back later, right?"_

_"I guess so," Castle conceded, "Maybe I can find out what's going on and see how the world went mad."_

_"Right," Martha humored him._

_Back over at Beckett's desk, Beckett watched Castle leave with his family. She found herself still staring in his direction after the elevator doors closed. Esposito brought her back to reality, "Missing your boy already?"_

_"What?," Beckett came out of her small self-induced trance._

_"Missing Castle already?," Esposito repeated, a teasing smirk appeared on his lips._

_"No," Beckett scoffed, "We might be able to get some real work done now… Did you find any more valuable information on Anna Snow?"_

Now in _If…_

**Chapter 5**

Castle's Loft

"So you two don't remember me shadowing them either?," Castle asked as they entered the loft.

"None whatsoever," Alexis shook her head, "I think you really need to rest, Dad, you've clearly gone a little over the deep end."

"Richard," Martha started, "Whatever possessed you to go bother those detectives with your games?"

"They're not games, Mother," Castle defended himself. The world had truly gone mad, "I'm _telling_ you, I've been following Detective Beckett around for the past three years and together we catch killers and put them behind bars. She's the inspiration for my character Nikki Heat."

"What are you talking about?," Martha shook her head at the unfamiliar name, "You went on to write about… you-know-who after you killed off Derrick Storm. Your latest book was _Agent Under Fire_ and the reviews for it were just above mediocre."

"See, that's just it," Castle said, "I didn't write those books, I wrote Nikki Heat books. My last book was _Naked Heat_ and it got raving reviews. I even have a new one coming out –_Heat Rises_."

"Dad, you're not making any sense," Alexis looked worried, "You're scaring me."

"I've got to figure out what's going on," Castle looked determined, "If you need me, I'll be in my study."

Castle hurried to his study while Alexis called out to him, "Dad!"

"Let him be, Alexis," Martha put her hand on her shoulder, "He'll get through this and he'll be back to his normal self."

* * *

><p>Castle opened up his laptop and began looking up the book his mother mentioned that he had supposedly written. She was right, the reviews he found for it were definitely less than his usual praise. He even found more articles about himself in the limelight, going out to parties and other high-end social events that he didn't remember ever going to. After about an hour of researching this strange life that he found himself in, he closed his laptop.<p>

"What the hell is going on here?," Castle asked himself, barely above a whisper. He rubbed his temples, he was starting to get a headache.

"You can get through this, Dad, I know you can. You're strong," Alexis said. Castle looked up and saw Alexis in the doorway.

"Thanks, pumpkin," Castle said and gestured for her to come to him.

"Thanks for what?," Alexis asked as she sat in his lap.

"For what you just said," Castle said.

"I didn't say anything," Alexis shook her head. Castle furrowed his brows and shook his head. Wow, maybe he was going crazy. First he thought he heard Beckett say something different and now he was completely hearing things.

Castle let out a long and audible sigh.

"You okay?," Alexis asked as she made herself more comfortable on her Dad's lap.

"I don't think so," Castle shook his head.

"What's wrong?," Alexis asked.

"The world," Castle replied, "… or me… I don't know what to believe anymore."

"You talking about shadowing those detectives?," Alexis knew.

"Yeah," Castle sighed, "I know them. I know I've been following them. They're all my best friends and Beckett…"

"You like her, don't you?," Alexis asked.

"What?," Castle sat up, making Alexis almost fall out of his lap. She repositioned herself and repeated, "You like her, don't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Castle feigned ignorance.

"Dad, I saw you two interacting for two minutes and you weren't acting like yourself," Alexis told him, "You seemed different… more mature, relaxed."

"You could tell that from two minutes?," Castle asked.

Alexis shrugged and gave him a small smile, "Is that why you're convinced you've been shadowing them? Because of Detective Beckett?"

"I'm not convinced of anything. It's fact," Castle shook his head, "I know it's crazy, but it's real. I can't figure out why the world has seemed to forgotten the past three years, but I'm determined to find out."

"Has the thought occurred to you that shadowing them isn't real and this is?," Alexis asked him.

"No," Castle shook his head, "Because I know that what I remember is real and I'm going to do everything I can to find out the truth about what's going on. Even if it means that I have to stop shadowing her."

"Just do me a favor and don't go insane?," Alexis made him promise.

"I promise," Castle smiled and gave Alexis a kiss on the cheek. She got up and turned back around, "And please don't go all out buying a whole bunch of detective equipment to investigate."

"I won't," Castle let out a small laugh, "I know my spending limits on buying things to get to the truth."

"Right," Alexis gave him a small smile, "Just be careful. I don't want to lose you."

"I'm not going anywhere," Castle smiled. After Alexis left him alone in his study for a minute, Castle looked up as if he was struck with an epiphany, "The fifteen grand."

* * *

><p>12th Precinct<p>

"I know what Anna did with the fifteen grand," Castle proclaimed as he came up to Beckett's desk.

"Castle," Beckett looked up, a little startled by his sudden appearance, "What'd you say?"

"I said that I know what Anna did with the fifteen grand," Castle said, "Or at least I have a good idea of what she did with it."

"I thought you left," Beckett got up to go to the break room, but Castle followed her, hot on her trail.

"I did, but I came back," Castle said.

"Clearly," Beckett stated as she poured herself a cup of coffee. Castle noticed it was the old monkey-peed-in-battery-acid coffee, but quickly shook that out of his head. He had to get to the matter at hand. Kate had already started walking toward the exit of the break room, but Rick quickly cut her off and put his arm up, blocking her way out, "What?"

"Will you just hear me out about my theory of what Anna did with the mysterious money or did you guys actually find out what happened with it?," Castle asked.

"We're still investigating it," Beckett replied as she walked back into the break room and turned back around to face him, "Look, Castle, this was an interesting day, but I think it's best if you just went home and we can all forget that any of this ever happened… because this whole thing? The thing where you say you've been following me around for three years? It's crazy. And I'm tired of this gag already."

"Look," Castle put his hands up, "I don't want to have another conversation about how _crazy_ this is… I just want to help you find this killer and I promise you, I'll…"

"You'll what?," Beckett sighed, folding her arms.

"I'll stop following you guys," Castle resigned, "Shadowing you lately hasn't really been about the books anymore and if what you want is for me not to follow you, then I'll respect your wishes… but after this case."

Beckett was stunned. She wasn't expecting Castle to just concede like that. But then again, she didn't know him very well, "Uh, okay."

"Thank you," Castle nodded.

"So, uh," Beckett put her coffee cup down, "What's your theory on what Anna did with the fifteen thousand?"

"It was something my daughter said," Castle started.

"You discussed the case with your daughter?," Beckett raised her voice.

"I usually do, but not this time," Castle explained himself, "Anyway, we were talking about something else and something she said hit me."

"Did it hit you hard enough to knock some sense into you?," Beckett replied sarcastically, folding her arms once again.

"Funny," Castle smirked at her, "No, she said that I shouldn't go crazy spending money to investigate the truth and it got me thinking… what if Anna used that money to hire a private investigator or something else to find out the truth about something that either happened to her or her parents twenty years ago."

"That might tell us what those dates were Sam was talking about," Beckett nodded, standing a little straighter, "But it still doesn't tell us where she got the money from."

"Well, that's where you come in," Castle said, "After all, you're the detective and I'm just the writer."

"Come on," Beckett led him out of the break room and they went over to Ryan and Esposito's joint desks, "You guys find anything else interesting from Anna's life yet? And did CSU bring back all those papers that were in her apartment?"

"Uh, they just brought them in actually," Ryan looked from Beckett to Castle, "Is he back on the case with us?"

"For now," Beckett said and put out her hand, "So, did you guys find anything interesting?"

"Actually, we did," Ryan said and Esposito continued, "She was e-mailing somebody consistently for the past two weeks."

"Two weeks keeps popping up," Castle observed.

"Who was she e-mailing?," Beckett asked.

"That's tough to say," Ryan said.

"What do you mean? Is it blocked? Protected?," Beckett tried.

"That's exactly what we're saying," Esposito said, "The e-mail looks like it was re-routed a bunch of times and we're trying to find the final recipient. Whatever she was doing, she made sure nobody would be able to find out who she was e-mailing."

"Even the messages were coded," Ryan said and handed over a copy of some of the messages, "Here."

"It's just a bunch of numbers," Beckett stated, "You figure out what they mean?"

"Nope," Ryan shook his head, "We ran the numbers to see if they correlated with anything going on in Anna's life and got zip."

"They're dates," Castle said.

"What?," Beckett turned to Castle as he took the file out of her hand, "They're dates. Look, they're all eight digits and the last four digits are all consistent with years – twenty years ago to be exact."

"She was e-mailing dates to a mysterious third party," Beckett bit her lip, "Wait, how is this one a date? There isn't a thirteenth month."

"That's the way they write dates in some foreign countries," Ryan said, "Do you think she was e-mailing somebody in another country"

"We have to find out who she was talking to," Esposito stated the obvious.

"Where are we on finding her adoptive parents?," Beckett got to the next matter at hand.

"Wow, you guys were busy while I was gone, huh?," Castle smirked.

Beckett gave him a slide glance before looking at either Ryan or Esposito expectantly, "Did you find any of them?"

"We did," Ryan said, "They're all dead."

"All?," Castle and Beckett asked in unison.

"All," Esposito nodded, "You said that her friend Sam said she bounced from foster home to foster home. We found all of her adoptive parents, three sets to be exact, and every single one of them are dead."

"Natural causes?," Castle tried.

"Try again," Ryan said, "They all died in house fires… and the latest one happened two weeks ago."

"Arson?," Beckett suggested.

"The local police just wrote them up as accidents," Esposito said, "There was no cause for any further investigation."

"Well now there is," Beckett said, handing him back the file, "And let me know the instant you find out who she was talking to."

Ryan and Esposito nodded and grabbed their phones to see what they could find out about the fires Anna's adoptive parents died in.

"Those must be the same dates Sam was talking about," Beckett connected the dots, "What do you think the significance of them are?"

"I don't know," Castle shook his head, "But I'm willing to bet there's a connection between those fires, who she was e-mailing, and those dates. Something must've happened to her when she was little and it caught up with her."

"We need to figure out her story," Beckett commented, "Find the chain of events that will help make everything make sense."

Castle smiled. That was one of the first things he had ever said to her on their first case together, "Exactly."

* * *

><p><strong>TBC<strong>

Anybody like that little father/daughter moment? I'm sure that those of you who have watched Christy's trailer for my story spotted the scene that was in this chapter that was in the trailer. It just fit and I was really glad that it matched up pretty well. They're a little bit farther along on the case. Does anybody have any theories yet on who the killer is? I hope that you all are still enjoying the story and that it still has the flow of an episode. I apologize for no update schedule, but I guess that's just keeping you guys in suspense. Plus, every few days is good enough. ;) Please comment if you can! I love them all! :)

Thank you to those of you who are simply just reading this story. You mean a lot to me too. :D

Clois and Caskett Forever! :D

PS: I came across this WIP story by Celeste. - _Glass Slipper_ - I really love it. :D It's an alternate story of Kate and Rick meeting while Kate's 16 and Castle's about 21 and goes from there. I hope she'll update soon. You can find the story on this site. 8-)


	7. Chapters 6 & 7

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Castle… just this AU idea. 8-)

**A/N:** You all ready for the double-update? ;D Together chapters 6 and 7 make about 8 pages and I hope you all enjoy it. We're closing in on the end. After this there are only 2 more chapters and an epilogue left. I have a little announcement in the end author's note. Please read it. In the meantime, please enjoy these next two chapters! Please comment if you can! 8-)

_Previously in **If**…_

_Beckett gave him a slide glance before looking at either Ryan or Esposito expectantly, "Did you find any of them?"_

_"We did," Ryan said, "They're all dead."_

_"All?," Castle and Beckett asked in unison._

_"All," Esposito nodded, "You said that her friend Sam said she bounced from foster home to foster home. We found all of her adoptive parents, three sets to be exact, and every single one of them are dead."_

_"Natural causes?," Castle tried._

_"Try again," Ryan said, "They all died in house fires… and the latest one happened two weeks ago."_

_"Arson?," Beckett suggested._

_"The local police just wrote them up as accidents," Esposito said, "There was no cause for any further investigation."_

_"Well now there is," Beckett said, handing him back the file, "And let me know the instant you find out who she was talking to."_

_Ryan and Esposito nodded and grabbed their phones to see what they could find out about the fires Anna's adoptive parents died in._

_"Those must be the same dates Sam was talking about," Beckett connected the dots, "What do you think the significance of them are?"_

_"I don't know," Castle shook his head, "But I'm willing to bet there's a connection between those fires, who she was e-mailing, and those dates. Something must've happened to her when she was little and it caught up with her."_

_"We need to figure out her story," Beckett commented, "Find the chain of events that will help make everything make sense."_

_Castle smiled. That was one of the first things he had ever said to her on their first case together, "Exactly."_

Now in _If…_

**Chapter 6**

"It seems like all we have on this case are questions upon questions. Everybody in this case has solid alibis," Beckett shook her head, staring up at the murder board. They had finally filled it with all of their up-to-date information, complete with a timeline.

"I know how that can be," Castle nodded, "I'm sure something will come up that'll help us break the case, something always does."

The next thing they knew, Beckett's desk phone started ringing. Castle gave her a look that said 'See?' as Beckett answered it, her eyes still on him, "Beckett."

_"Hey, girl, you're gonna want to come down to the morgue," Lanie's chipper voice came from the other end, "I think I may have found a clue to help you solve this case."_

* * *

><p>Morgue<p>

"Put these on," Beckett slapped Castle in the chest with some blue scrubs and held out some goggles.

"Why?," Castle asked as he grabbed everything from her, "The last time we wore both of these things when entering the morgue to see Lanie was our dead nanny case."

"Just put it on," Beckett said, "Lanie's still working with the body, that's why we have to put these on, okay?"

"Okay," Castle said as he put them on and followed Beckett into the morgue.

"Thanks for coming down so quickly," Lanie greeted them.

"You said you had a clue that might help us solve the case," Beckett said, "With that as an opening, I dropped everything and got here as soon as I could."

"So what's the big clue?," Castle asked.

"The dirt on her feet," Lanie started and gestured to it.

"What about it?," Beckett asked, as she looked up from Anna's feet.

"It's not dirt," Lanie stated, proud of herself.

"What is it then?," Castle asked, "I can't see anything through these scratches on these goggles. I can't believe these things still haven't been upgraded."

Lanie ignored Castle's tangent about the scratched goggles and answered his other question, "It's soot."

"Soot?," Castle and Beckett asked at the same time.

Lanie hid a smile at their timing and repeated with a nod, "Soot."

"How come you didn't call about it not being dirt before?," Castle wondered.

"I was doing some other tests, working on other bodies," Lanie replied, putting a hand on her hip, "You got a problem with that?"

"No," Castle looked a little embarrassed and scared.

"The fires," Beckett said, ignoring Castle and Lanie's last exchange of conversation, "Do you think she could've been near or around one of her adoptive parents' fires?"

"The last fire was two weeks ago," Castle said, the pieces of the puzzle started to come together to make the picture just a little more clear, "I'd say it's a big possibility."

* * *

><p>"I can't imagine what they had to endure when they were in here when this place was on fire," Ryan commented as they made their way through the burned down home of Anna's last adoptive parents: the Snows.<p>

"Me neither," Esposito shook his head.

"What exactly are we looking for again?," Ryan asked as he ducked to get around a fallen wooden support beam.

"Anything that might help us find a clue about what happened here," Esposito replied, "Or any indication that Anna could've been here. Beckett just called to say that the dirt on her feet was actually soot… so it stands to reason she could've been here."

"Hey, Esposito," Ryan called him over, "Look at that."

"What?," Esposito maneuvered his way over to his partner.

"Those high-heels aren't charred," Ryan made his way over to the shoes and knelt down to pick up one of the heels with his pencil, "Wasn't our victim barefoot?"

"She was here," Esposito concluded.

"Not only that," Ryan gestured with his head to the end of the table near where Anna's shoes were. Esposito knelt down to be eye-level with Ryan to see what he was looking at on the table.

There was blood on the sharp corner edge of the table. Ryan declared, "She was killed here."

* * *

><p>12th Precinct<p>

"Hey, did you guys ever find out who those people were at the diner Anna's fiancée was talking about?," Castle wondered.

"No," Beckett shook her head, "We tried pulling surveillance from the restaurant to see if we could get a make on them, but they weren't facing the camera… Though, Anna did look nervous and edgy like Adam said. What brought that up anyway?"

"Just thinking about all the clues," Castle shrugged, "Maybe she recognized them from somewhere or something."

"Maybe," Beckett bit her lip, "but without knowing who they are, we can't conclude anything."

"What about that mysterious phone call the principal was talking about?," Castle tried.

"Nothing on that," Beckett shook her head, "The incoming call was from a payphone, there's no way to determine who was on the other end."

"Sounds like we've got nothing but dead ends on this one so far," Castle sighed. It was starting to mirror the case they were working on before this whole mess started.

"We'll catch a break soon," Beckett said, "Something will pop up from CSU or Tech and it'll lead us to something."

"Speaking of which, I don't understand why you just won't let me use my connections to jump the line and get results from CSU already," Castle commented.

"Because, I don't want you assisting us with this case made known public," Beckett said, "And because I told you so… all we can do right now is wait anyway. We've already re-checked everyone who was in contact with Anna the day she was murdered and all of their alibis are solid."

"You checked them all when I was back at my loft?," Castle asked and Beckett just nodded. They were sitting at Beckett's desk.

"Yo, Castle," Esposito got his attention as he and Ryan wheeled their way over to Beckett and Castle.

"Yeah?," Castle prompted him to continue.

"While we're waiting for CSU to give us their results from their sweep of the Snows' burned down house and Tech to figure out who she was e-mailing, why don't you tell us about what we're all like in your dream world," Esposito suggested.

"What?," Castle laughed, taken by surprise, and sat up a little straighter in his chair.

"Tell us what we're all like in your little dream world," Esposito repeated, "Are we any different than them?"

Castle finally caught on to his meaning, "Oh… well, I don't know. I don't know what things are like here."

"Just start stating facts that you know about us and we'll tell you if it's the same here," Ryan said, "Come on, we're bored. We need something to do to pass the time."

"Uh, all right," Castle conceded, "Are you still with Jenny?"

"Yeah, she's been my girlfriend for quite awhile," Ryan nodded.

"Well, in my 'dream world'," Castle used air quotes, "You and Jenny are getting married soon."

Ryan was a little stunned at that, but Castle continued by turning to Esposito, "And you and Lanie have recently got together."

"Lanie?," Esposito enunciated, "Really?"

"You like her, bro?," Ryan teased, smiling.

"What? No, no, no, no," Esposito denied it a little too vehemently, "No, I mean, yeah, I like her… but not like that, no."

Beckett, Ryan, and Castle exchanged glances. They weren't buying it. Castle smirked, "Other than that, you seem pretty much the same."

"What about me?," Beckett decided to join in on the fun, "Am I any different in your dream world?"

"You're a little tenser here," Castle said, "You're a lot like the way you were when I first met you."

"Tense?," Beckett raised her eyebrow.

"Tense," Castle nodded, "You're as serious as a heart attack, you need to loosen up – I've taught you that over the years, you've got more of a sense of a humor since I've rubbed off on you…"

Beckett, Ryan, and Esposito blinked at him and Castle coughed out, "That sounded a lot dirtier than I meant it."

"Uh-huh," Beckett wasn't swayed, "Tell me, does dream me put up with you?"

"Not at first, but now you more than put up with me," Castle said, "I'm your partner."

"I don't have partners," Beckett shook her head, sitting back in her chair.

"Hey!," Esposito and Ryan protested and she immediately corrected herself, "Not you guys… I mean, when I- when I investigate… never mind."

Castle couldn't help but laugh at her slip. Before he could say anything else, Katlynne from Tech came over, "Got those results back for who your vic was e-mailing."

"Thank you, Katlynne," Beckett took the information from her before she went on her way. Beckett opened the file and widened her eyes, "No way."

"What?," Esposito, Ryan, and Castle all asked in unison. She handed the file to Castle and the boys looked over his shoulder. Once again, all three of them reacted in an identical manner, "You've gotta be kidding me."

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

"So, you knew more about those little dates than you let on, Ms. Manna," Beckett started interrogating Sam. Esposito, Ryan, and Castle were watching from the observation room.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sam stated.

"You were receiving e-mails from Anna," Beckett said, "E-mails that were re-routed multiple times before they finally got to you. What were they about?"

Sam didn't say anything.

"Fine," Beckett stood up, and headed to the door, "Let's see if a couple of hours in holding with some assault and battery criminals will change your mind."

"Okay!," Sam stopped her, "But you can't tell anyone…"

"Tell anyone what?," Beckett sat back down, "What were you two mixed up in?"

"We weren't mixed up in anything," Sam shook her head, looking down, "I was helping Anna with something."

"With what?," Beckett gestured for her to continue.

Sam looked reluctant to answer. Just when Beckett opened her mouth to gently encourage her to continue, she did, "I moonlight as an investigator…a-a private investigator."

"What were you looking into for her?," Beckett asked.

"I was trying to find her biological parents for her," Sam replied.

"Shouldn't the adoptive agency have that information?," Beckett was confused.

"It got lost," Sam shook her head, "I was only able to find her mother and she had passed away when Anna was about one and a half."

"What about her father?," Beckett tilted her head to the side.

"Heart attack a couple years ago," Sam replied.

"What's the significance of all those dates?," Beckett folded her hands on the table.

"They were dates from her early childhood," Sam explained, "Days she was put into adoption, adopted, school enrollment, et cetera."

"How come she wrote them in the way someone from say England writes dates?," Beckett asked. That little detail was niggling at her.

"It was just the way she learned," Sam replied.

"Was she paying you?," Beckett asked and Sam nodded, "Did she pay you fifteen thousand?"

"What? Fifteen thousand?," Sam's eyes just about popped out of her head, "No, no way. She was paying me about a hundred a week for every week I found out info for her. There's no way it coulda even added up to that."

"Do you know where her current adoptive parents are now?," Beckett asked, feigning ignorance on the matter to see how much information she could pull from Sam.

"Dead… they died in a house fire two weeks ago," Sam replied, "After that, I told her I had to stop investigating for her."

"Why?," Beckett wondered, pencil poised to take notes.

"It seemed too risky to me," Sam shrugged, "Too many deaths were popping up. When I decided to investigate matters for people, friends, I didn't think that I'd uncover anything like this."

"Like what?," Beckett prodded.

"Death, twists, lies, mysteries," Sam got a little louder.

"What did she expect? She lives in New York," Castle muttered from behind the mirror. Esposito and Ryan nodded in agreement as they continued to listen.

"About a week and a half ago, I told her I had to stop and I gave her back all the information she gave me… she must've decided to keep investigating herself," Sam admitted.

"The dates you saw when you went to check on her," Beckett nodded in understanding, "Did you know Anna went to her parents' house?"

"No," Sam shook her head.

"She did," Beckett said, sitting back in her chair, leaning back a little, "She went to the Snows' the day she was murdered… in fact, she was murdered in the remains of the house."

"Oh my God," Sam was stunned.

"Who else knew about you investigating Anna's past?," Beckett asked.

"I was only exclusive about it with her," Sam replied, "I don't think she mentioned it to anyone else. The only person I could think of would be her fiancée Adam."

"Thank you, Sam. Don't leave town. I'll call if we need anything else from you," Beckett nodded and left the room.

* * *

><p>"Well that wasn't very helpful," Castle commented as soon as Beckett came in the observation room.<p>

"Do you pay attention when you follow me in that dream world of yours?," Beckett raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," Castle said, but failed to see what was so helpful about that conversation.

"Ryan, bring him up to speed," Beckett ordered, "Esposito, you're with me."

As soon as Esposito and Beckett left, Castle turned to Ryan, "What am I missing?"

"The fiancée, dude," Ryan said and left the room, shaking his head, laughing a little.

After a moment, a light bulb went off in Castle's head, "Ohhhhh."

* * *

><p>"So, uh, the me in your dream world," Ryan started. Castle hid a smile at the dubbed name they gave what he knew to be his reality. They were sitting at Ryan's desk while they were waiting for Esposito and Beckett to come back with Adam Hatch.<p>

"Yes?," Castle cocked his head to the side. He had an inkling as to what Ryan was leading up to.

"You said that I'm getting married to Jenny?," Ryan asked. Castle just nodded as Ryan continued, "How did he propose?"

"A sweet little proposal here in the precinct," Castle answered.

"Really?," Ryan asked, "Nothing big? Nothing huge like a helicopter ride? I mean, she deserves something big and I just want it to be perfect."

"You don't need something like a helicopter ride, Ryan," Castle shook his head, "You've been planning on proposing to her?"

"Yeah, for quite a while now," Ryan nodded, "I guess I just don't have enough confidence in myself to do it… but more than that, I'm afraid she'll say no."

"She won't say no," Castle assured him, "Trust me."

"Thanks, Castle," Ryan smiled.

"Ryan," Montgomery came up to him and Castle as he handed him a file, "CSU got some results from the crime scene."

"Thanks, Captain," Ryan took it from him.

Montgomery nodded at Castle as he reciprocated it, "Castle."

"Roy doesn't like that I'm here, does he?," Castle asked Ryan as he started to look through the results.

"Eh, we're all getting used to it," Ryan smirked. As he went through the results, his eyes widened, "Castle… take a look at this."

"I've written many twists and have come up with many theories," Castle started, "but I don't think I would ever come up with that."

* * *

><p>"What?," Beckett answered her phone, annoyed.<p>

_"You'll never guess what Ryan and I just found out," Castle teased on the other end._

"I'm not in the mood, Castle, just spill it," Beckett remarked. She and Esposito were almost to Hatch's apartment building.

_"Party pooper," Castle commented and conceded, "The CSU results came back from the crime scene. Apparently, they got some prints off of the table where Anna's blood was…"_

After a long pause, Beckett realized, he probably wanted her to ask, "Whose?"

_"Adam Hatch," Castle stated._

At that, Beckett slowly hung up her phone and looked to Esposito, "Hatch's prints were at the scene."

"Let's get him," Esposito nodded.

* * *

><p>12th Precinct<p>

"You lied to us, Adam," Beckett started, "You said the last time you saw your fiancée was yesterday morning, but that's not true is it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Adam shook his head, shifting in his seat, "That _was_ the last time I saw Anna."

"Where were you really between ten and twelve thirty last night?," Beckett asked, "You told my detectives later you were at a party with some of your friends."

"That's right," Adam said, "They saw me, they told you they saw me, right?"

"They did," Beckett nodded, "but that doesn't mean that you could've slipped out and come back before they noticed you were gone."

"This is ridiculous," Adam scratched the back of his head, "Are you accusing me of killing my own fiancée? That's ludicrous. I _loved_ her, I would never do anything to hurt her."

"Heard that before," Castle muttered from the other side of the interrogation room.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Adam was adamant.

"We have your prints at the scene of the crime," Beckett pushed the file towards him, "Now tell me you have no idea what I'm talking about."

**TBC**

Dun dun dunnnnnn… did you guys like your double-update? I thought it'd be fun to have a small scene talking about what Castle's AU friends' lives were like without him in it – a few differences. I thought it needed some Ryan/Castle bonding. I really liked writing that part. :D All that's left after this is just two more chapters and an epilogue. Anybody think they've figured out the case yet? ;)

Guess what, everybody? I wrote a companion fic to go along with this story all in one day. I was on a roll. ;) :P It's about what was happening in the real world while Castle was in the AU one. I'll post it after I post all of _If_ and I want to give you guys an option. Either I post it all at once or in two parts. Which would you all prefer? It's called _Connection_ and turned out to only be 19 pages. I hope you all will check it out if you can when I post it.

Please leave a comment for this double-update if you can! I hope you all are still enjoying the story as much as you did when you first started reading. Thank you to those of you who are simply just reading this story. You mean a lot to me too. :D

Clois and Caskett Forever! :D


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Castle… I'd be at a lot better piece of mind to know what's coming for the season finale. :P

**A/N:** All right, everybody. I made a decision about how I'll be posting _Connection_, and _when_… about a week after all of _If_ is posted. I'll announce it in the end author's note. That way the story will be digested thoroughly and build up the excitement for it. ;) In the meantime, I hope you enjoy chapter 8 of _If_ below. :D

_Previously in **If**…_

_12th Precinct_

_"You lied to us, Adam," Beckett started, "You said the last time you saw your fiancée was yesterday morning, but that's not true is it?"_

_"I don't know what you're talking about," Adam shook his head, shifting in his seat, "That **was** the last time I saw Anna."_

_"Where were you really between ten and twelve thirty last night?," Beckett asked, "You told my detectives later you were at a party with some of your friends."_

_"That's right," Adam said, "They saw me, they told you they saw me, right?"_

_"They did," Beckett nodded, "but that doesn't mean that you could've slipped out and come back before they noticed you were gone."_

_"This is ridiculous," Adam scratched the back of his head, "Are you accusing me of killing my own fiancée? That's ludicrous. I **loved** her, I would never do anything to hurt her."_

_"Heard that before," Castle muttered from the other side of the interrogation room._

_"I have no idea what you're talking about," Adam was adamant._

_"We have your prints at the scene of the crime," Beckett pushed the file towards him, "Now tell me you have no idea what I'm talking about."_

Now in _If…_

**Chapter 8**

Adam looked down and fidgeted in his seat. When he didn't say anything, Beckett tried to persuade him, "You're facing murder charges, Mr. Hatch."

"If I told you the truth, I doubt you'd believe me," Adam said, barely above a whisper, but they still heard him.

"Couldn't hurt your chances," Castle commented as he took a seat next to Beckett.

"I was at the house," Hatch confessed, "but I didn't kill her… I was there after it all happened at about two thirty in the morning."

"What were you doing there?," Beckett asked.

"I was," Adam took a deep breath, "I was trying to clean Anna's blood off the table… get rid of anything that would show she was there."

"Why? To cover up your murder?," Castle accused.

"No! I didn't kill her," Adam was obstinate.

"Then why were you there trying to clear any evidence that Anna was at that house if you didn't kill her?," Beckett questioned.

"To cover up the tracks of the person who killed her," Adam said.

"You know who killed her?," Beckett poked the table, "And you didn't say anything? What are you involved in, Adam?"

"I-I've got a little bit of a gambling problem," Adam admitted, "I thought I had it all under control, but I got back into it by accident and I fell off the deep end again… I even used Anna's card for placing a bet."

"Let me guess, fifteen thousand? Adding it to the price of her wedding dress?," Castle guessed.

"Yeah," Adam nodded, "I couldn't use my own card."

"Told you it was strange," Castle looked to Beckett.

"Did you happen to call Anna from a payphone two days ago?," Beckett asked, following a hunch.

"Yeah," Adam nodded again.

"Were you talking about children and meeting?," Castle asked as the mysterious clues were answered.

"We were just talking about our future, having kids, and how my gambling would affect them," Adam said, "And I suggested we just meet at our usual diner to talk things over the next day."

"And is that what you talked about at the diner yesterday morning?," Beckett asked and Adam nodded once again, "What about those people you told us about? Did you really know them?"

"No," Adam shook his head, "I really didn't recognize them, but Anna must've, she really was watching them, staring even."

"Well, that's still one mystery," Castle commented.

"Who murdered Anna Snow, Adam?," Beckett asked, "You said you were there to clean up after them… who did it?"

"My… uh," Adam didn't continue, "You'll protect me, right?"

"Just tell us who killed Anna, and you'll be safe," Beckett assured him.

"My bookie killed her," Adam admitted, "And he was the one to burn down her parents' house… he wanted to take something away from me when I didn't pay up by taking something away from the woman I loved. When she went to investigate it… he…"

"He killed her," Castle finished for him.

Adam nodded as tears welled up inside his eyes, "She's dead and it's all my fault."

"Adam," Beckett started tentatively, "What's the name of your bookie?"

"Jack," Adam answered, "Jack 'the Attack' Bunts."

"Where can I find him?," Beckett asked.

"It doesn't work like that," Adam shook his head, "I have to get into contact with him for bets, that sort of thing."

"Call him," Beckett ordered.

"I can't right now," Adam looked scared.

"I understand that you're scared and you're in way over your head, but I need you to call him – get justice for Anna and get you some help," Beckett tried to persuade him.

"That's not what I meant," Adam put his hand to his forehead, "I meant that I can't call him right now. It's past his business hours, I'd have to call in the morning."

"First thing in the morning," Beckett nodded and started to get up, Castle following.

"Detective?," Adam stopped her from leaving. She looked at him to continue, "This may seem like an odd request, but would it be possible for me to stay in holding until then? I'd feel safer there."

Beckett just nodded and left the room with Castle closing the door behind her.

"I guess all we can do now is wait," Beckett said, plopping down in her chair.

"What? Aren't you going to check his story?," Castle asked, "We don't have any proof that who he said killed her. All we have is his word. He could've been easily lying. For all we know, he could be his Jack Attack bookie."

"We'll find out tomorrow, won't we, Castle?," Beckett looked up at him, "Plus, he's already in holding and gave us all the information we need."

"Except whom the mysterious people were at that table at _Linda's_," Castle commented, "Did you at least see the kind of people they were from the diner's video surveillance?"

"Just that it was a family," Beckett shrugged and wiped her tired face with her hands.

"Maybe we're reading into it," Castle suggested and shrugged, "Maybe she was just looking at them longingly, thinking about the future."

"Could be," Beckett sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You okay?," Castle noticed how tired she was.

"Just tired," Beckett sighed, "Today's been a long day between this case…"

"And me?," Castle knew.

Beckett gave him a sympathetic smile and a small nod, "I'm going to call it a night… we can't do anything until tomorrow anyway."

"You want to have dinner with me?," Castle invited her.

"Are you asking me out?," Beckett instantly put her hands down from her face.

"I'm inviting my best friend to have dinner with me," Castle said, "at my place. I know you don't eat right and after a day like today, I know you need some nourishment. A detective can't run on monkey-pee-battery-acid flavored coffee alone."

Beckett gave him the oddest look from that description and shook her head, "Why not? I am hungry. Today's been an adventure anyway, why not see what else this adventure has in store for me."

Castle smiled.

* * *

><p>Castle's Loft<p>

"Alexis? Mother?," Castle called out as he entered his loft, "I'm home and I brought some company."

Beckett looked hesitant to come in his apartment. When Rick realized Kate wasn't next to him, he ushered her in, "Come on in, Beckett. It's just an apartment, I promise there are no booby traps."

"Company? Who did you-," Alexis appeared in the room. Her question was answered when she saw Kate, "Oh, uh, evening, Detective Beckett."

"Evening," Beckett gave her a small smile.

"I'll be right back," Castle said and disappeared into the other room.

"I, uh, hope you don't mind. Castle- your dad invited me for dinner," Beckett felt the need to explain her presence.

"After the other girls that he's brought home for dinner in the past, his fans, you're a welcome change, Detective Beckett," Alexis told her, "Did you guys solve that case yet? Is this a celebratory dinner?"

"We've almost solved it," Beckett nodded, "There's one more thing we have to do that has to wait until tomorrow."

"Oh, that's good to hear," Martha entered the room.

"Evening, uh, Mrs-," Beckett started, but was cut off by Martha, "Call me Martha, dear."

"Evening, Martha," Beckett corrected herself, "I hope you don't mind, but Castle invited me over for dinner."

"I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of you around," Martha smiled, "It's our pleasure, dear."

Castle came out of the bathroom to come back into the living room, but stopped and listened in on Martha, Alexis, and Beckett talking.

"Do you want me to get you something to eat? Drink?," Alexis offered.

"I'm good right now, thanks, Alexis," Beckett shook her head, leaning forward in her seat on the chair.

"You really should eat something," Martha agreed with her granddaughter, "You look famished."

"Yeah, are you sure?," Alexis asked, "I'm sure you've eaten less than us since… well, you know."

Castle furrowed his eyebrows. What in the world were they talking about? Dinner? Their exchange of conversation seemed off.

"I'm fine right now, Alexis," Beckett assured her, "You get something to eat first for you and Martha and I'll eat later, I swear."

"Okay," Alexis stood up.

Castle took that moment to make his presence known, "Hey, girls, what you talking about? What to have for dinner?"

"Yeah," Alexis said.

"Well then, why don't we get cooking?," Castle suggested, rubbing his hands together.

**TBC**

Hmmm… Castle's misheard another conversation. ;) What do you guys think of the case? Was it believable? It'll be wrapped up in the next chapter completely. That was my first time writing a murder in any way. I hope I wrote it okay. And as for that last mystery about the family Anna was looking at, Castle said what it was, that won't be touched on again. So, I actually wrote another little scene to _Connection_ and made it spill over to 20 pages. That said, I'll be posting it in two parts when I do post it.

Also, the amazing Christy who made the banner, poster, and trailer for this story also made the same for my companion fic/sequel. I'll reveal the artwork one or two days after all of this one is posted since it is spoiler-y for this story. It'll be posted in my profile. Then I'm sure Christy'll reveal the EPIC EPIC trailer around the same time. Seriously, the trailer is about as epic as the one for this one. I can't stop watching it.

Please leave a comment if you can! There's only one chapter left and the epilogue. And I must warn you that the next chapter is pretty climactic and has a somewhat evil cliffhanger. ;)

Thank you to those of you who are simply just reading this story. You mean a lot to me too. :D

Clois and Caskett Forever! :D

PS: Yes, I realize that this chapter wasn't very long, but chapter 9 more than makes up for it. It's a little longer and has a LOT of content. ;) :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Castle… though it has been strange seeing some similar things that were in my stories on the show… lol. I guess I just really know these characters. :P :D

**A/N:** So, I'm posting chapter 9 today because I need something to distract me today while I prepare myself for the series finale of Smallville. *sniff* Okay, there is an evil cliffhanger at the end of this chapter, just as a warning. The level of evilness will vary for each reader. ;) I hope you all enjoy it. All that's left after this is the epilogue. Then I should get a good idea of when I will post _Connection_. Well, what are you waiting for? Here's chapter 9 of _If_…

_Previously in **If**…_

_Castle came out of the bathroom to come back into the living room, but stopped and listened in on Martha, Alexis, and Beckett talking._

_"Do you want me to get you something to eat? Drink?," Alexis offered._

_"I'm good right now, thanks, Alexis," Beckett shook her head, leaning forward in her seat on the chair._

_"You really should eat something," Martha agreed with her granddaughter, "You look famished."_

_"Yeah, are you sure?," Alexis asked, "I'm sure you've eaten less than us since… well, you know."_

_Castle furrowed his eyebrows. What in the world were they talking about? Dinner? Their exchange of conversation seemed off._

_"I'm fine right now, Alexis," Beckett assured her, "You get something to eat first for you and Martha and I'll eat later, I swear."_

_"Okay," Alexis stood up._

_Castle took that moment to make his presence known, "Hey, girls, what you talking about? What to have for dinner?"_

_"Yeah," Alexis said._

_"Well then, why don't we get cooking?," Castle suggested, rubbing his hands together._

* * *

><p>Now in <em>If…<em>

**Chapter 9**

**_The next day…_**

12th Precinct

"So, how does this work?," Beckett asked Adam. She, Adam, and Castle were once again in the interrogation room getting ready to contact Anna's killer.

"He can't know that I'm with the police," Adam said, "It's like he has eyes everywhere. He knows where I am when I call."

"If that's true then wouldn't he know that you're already with the police?," Castle made a good point.

"That's not what I meant," Adam defended himself, "I have to call him from my apartment, I always do."

"No wonder he knows where you are when you call," Castle mumbled.

"How does it work?," Beckett repeated, "When you call? Does he meet you? Do you have a meeting place?"

"Meeting place," Adam answered, "You're going to have to trust me. I know I don't deserve it after all that's happened."

"That's an understatement," Castle commented under his breath. Beckett gave him a little nudge with her elbow in his side and looked at Adam, "You meet him today at one."

Adam nodded in understanding, "I'll let you know after I call him."

With that, Adam got up and left the precinct to call Jack 'The Attack' Bunts, his bookie and the murderer of his fiancée Anna Snow.

"You're just going to let him go like that?," Castle didn't quite believe it.

"Not likely," Beckett replied with a smirk, "I've already got Esposito and Ryan staked out at his apartment and some uniforms keeping eyes on his place from all angles. If he tries anything, we'll know."

Castle smirked. He should've known better.

* * *

><p>Adam's Apartment<p>

Adam slowly turned the door handle and entered his apartment. He closed the door behind him and leaned back against it, taking a long and audible breath. His fiancée was dead and it was all his fault. He wiped a tired hand over his face and scratched his goatee. If he hadn't fallen off the deep end into his gambling problem, borrowing money from his shady bookie, and placing bets that he couldn't afford, she might still be alive. Slowly, he walked to his phone and sat down, bracing himself before he made the call.

_Each ring seemed like it took an hour each before Jack picked up, "Adam? To what do I owe the pleasure?"_

"I want to place another bet," Adam said, his voice shaking a little.

_"Really?," Jack remarked, "Gotta say, I'm impressed, Hatch… thought the death of your fiancée would've rattled you a little more."_

"I, uh, I guess the gambling turned out to be a little more important," Adam played the part. He shut his eyes hard together, the things he had to say to get justice. He'd spend the rest of his days regretting his problem and the consequences that followed.

_"How much?," Jack asked, interested in the money, "And on what?"_

"A grand," Adam thought of an amount, more than likely he really wouldn't have to come up with that amount – he hoped, "On the _Knicks_… meet at our usual place at one?"

_"One it is," Jack replied and hung up._

As soon as Adam hung up, he took a breath and dialed Beckett. The amount of time it took her to pick up didn't feel nearly as half as long as it did for Jack. He told her what he said and how their meeting place would be at one like she told him.

_"Where's the meeting place?," Beckett asked._

"An empty warehouse on thirty-ninth," Adam answered, "Should I come to the police station?"

_"Yes," Beckett replied, "I have some of my men out there already to bring you back, they'll signal you and you get in to come back here."_

"All right," Adam nodded, "Detective?"

_"Yes?," Beckett asked, stopping herself from hanging up. The conversation seemed like it was almost over._

"I hope I'll be able to make amends for my sins," Adam said sincerely.

_"I'm sure I could arrange something for you and your cooperation, Adam," Beckett told him, "See you in a bit."_

They both hung up and Beckett turned to Castle, "Looks like we'll have this case all finished just in time for after lunch."

"Do you really believe there's a Jack?," Castle asked.

"I do," Beckett nodded, "I've become pretty good at reading people over the years. He's not lying – he just got in over his head and now he has to deal with the consequences. But I think with the right kind of help, he should be okay."

"You really are extraordinary, Kate," Castle complimented her.

Beckett didn't even call him out on the fact he called her by her first name and decided to return the favor, "Thanks, Rick."

* * *

><p>Outside the Abandoned Warehouse<p>

"You clear on the plan, Hatch?," Esposito asked Adam, turning around in the car. They had all met up at the precinct and went over how everything was going to go down. And now they were ready to instigate the plan.

"Yeah," Adam nodded, "And you guys will be right behind me?"

"That's the plan," Ryan said. After a moment, they all got out of the car and let Adam head into the warehouse first.

A couple car lengths down, Beckett and Castle were talking in her car, "Castle, I know you told me before that it was pointless to tell you to stay in the car, but I am asking for you to, for your own safety, _stay in the car_."

"Okay," Castle nodded. He noticed the seriousness in her eyes. Esposito came up and knocked on her window, signaling her to follow them. They were all in their Police bulletproof vests. She nodded at them and started to get out of the car, but Castle grabbed her arm, stopping her for a moment, "But just know that the only reason I'm staying in the car is because I don't have my Writer vest."

Beckett furrowed her brows at that, but decided to let it go and followed her partners into the warehouse behind Adam. Castle watched them go, hoping that everything would be okay. This case was almost over which meant to stay true to his promise, his time shadowing her was almost over.

* * *

><p>"Got the money?," Jack asked as he saw Adam approaching.<p>

Adam held a briefcase up and nodded, "Yeah, but, could you answer a question for me before I place my bet?"

"Depends," Jack replied.

"Why did you move Anna when you- when you-," Adam couldn't even bring himself to say it.

"Did her in?," Jack asked like it was nothing, "I don't think that's an appropriate question, Hatch."

"Please, Attack," Adam pleaded, using the bookie's nickname to show he was sincere, "Could you at least give me that? Give me some closure?"

Jack looked like he was contemplating in answering him, but decided to have mercy on the poor bastard, "Couldn't have anybody poking around her parents' house in case somebody discovered it was arson – didn't want a dead body popping up in the remains. So, I decided to dump her body, but just when I was about to dump her in a dumpster, I heard sirens – so I just left her beside the dumpster and walked away."

"You didn't think the police would find her?," Adam furrowed his brows.

"Now that wasn't really my concern, was it, Adam?," Jack said, "I had no connection with her, that'd be all you… now are we done with the small talk? Can we get to the good stuff now?"

"I'd say so," Beckett came out of her hiding spot, gun raised and at the ready, "Jack 'the Attack' Bunts, you're under arrest for the murder of Anna Snow."

"What was this, Hatch?," Jack didn't let the detective's presence faze him, "Some sort of setup?"

"That's exactly what it was, you son of a bitch, now hands up," Esposito said, coming from behind him, gun also raised with Ryan at his side, mirroring Beckett and Esposito's stances.

"I'm even more impressed now, Hatch," Jack stated, nodding his head to the side and licking his lips. In a split second, he took his gun out of his holster quickly and in the blink of an eye shot Adam twice dead in the head. Adam's body fell to the ground, dead in an instant, the briefcase falling out of his hand and opening to reveal a recording device.

Beckett, Ryan, Esposito, and Jack were now engaged in a standoff.

* * *

><p>Castle was passing the time sitting in the car by playing "Red Car, Blue Car" with himself when he heard a gunshot go off coming from the warehouse. Without thinking he shot out of the car, whispering under his breath, "Kate."<p>

Meanwhile inside the warehouse, everyone still had their guns raised, holding off on shooting. Jack started backing toward the exit, "Now, I'm going to walk out of here and you detectives are not going to follow me."

"I wouldn't bank on that, Bunts," Ryan said, moving closer to him, his partners doing the same.

Before anybody could say anything more, the door flung open with Castle gaining his footing inside, breathing 'Beckett' – everything happened so quickly. Before any of his friends could register Castle had burst through the door, Jack had his arm wrapped around him, taking him hostage.

"Castle," Beckett's heart was in her throat. She should've known that even under his word, it would be useless to tell him to stay in the car.

"I-I heard a gunshot, I thought-," Castle tried to explain himself.

He didn't have to say anything else. Beckett immediately knew what he was trying to say. Castle thought one of them was shot and ran in acting on impulse.

"You two lovebirds?," Jack remarked, looking from Castle to Beckett, shoving the nuzzle of his gun deeper into Castle's side. Castle let out a groan in pain.

"Let him go, Bunts," Beckett growled.

"I'll cut you a deal, Detective," Jack started and looked to Esposito and Ryan, turning himself and Castle in their direction, "all of you."

"What?," Beckett asked, venom practically oozing from the question.

"I'll let this man go if you let me go," Jack stated, "Sounds like a fair deal, am I right?"

"Not going to happen," Beckett said, her eyes hardened.

Castle looked from Beckett to Ryan and Esposito and back to Beckett. His mind started racing. This particular standoff was exactly like the situation he found himself in a year ago with Dick Coonan. Swallowing all his courage, he took one last look at Beckett for strength before he head-butted Jack. The next few seconds seemed to elapse in slow motion. As Jack reached for his nose that now bled as he aimed his gun at Castle, Beckett pulled her trigger. The bullet sailed toward Jack as Jack fired his gun at Castle simultaneously.

Jack went down, eyes wide, dead. All heads turned to Castle who staggered backwards. Ryan leaped in just in time to catch him.

"Castle!," Beckett ran toward him and knelt down. Ryan was now kneeling on the ground behind him due to Castle's weight, "Castle! Why in the hell did you do that for?"

"It worked last time," Castle managed a smile and looked down. There was a small crimson circle in his side, growing in size, "Well, that's not good."

"Esposito, call an ambulance!," Beckett ordered. Esposito stared at Castle before Beckett yelled, "Esposito? Now!"

"Right," Esposito shook himself out of it and dialed 9-1-1.

"You stay with me, Castle," Beckett said, grabbing his hand with one of hers and with the other, applied pressure to his wound. A small tingle went through his hand from her touch, "You're going to be fine."

"Yeah, Castle," Ryan echoed, "You gotta come to my wedding."

"Proposed to Jenny, then?," Castle assumed.

"Last night… Thanks to you for giving me the confidence boost I needed," Ryan smiled, "I need my co-best man."

"Wouldn't miss that for the world," Castle said, coming out in short breaths, "Wow, nobody ever really says how much this hurts, do they?"

"You're going to be fine, Castle," Beckett said, "You're going to be fine."

"I'll always be there for you, Kate," Castle said, his eyes watering partially from the pain and from the tenderness of the moment.

"Castle?," Beckett reached for his bangs that now stuck to his forehead from his sweat. He managed a small smile.

"Paramedics are on their way," Esposito informed them.

"See? You're gonna be just fine, Castle," Beckett smiled through tears, looking from Esposito to Ryan and down at Castle, "Castle?"

"I heard you," Castle said, his breaths getting shallower. He started to close his eyes and whispered, "Until we meet again, Kate."

"Castle! You stay with me!," Beckett yelled as Castle's eyes closed. The pain in his side was too much for him. She repeated his name over and over again, her voice getting more and more muffled as darkness consumed Richard Castle.

* * *

><p><strong>TBC<strong>

*runs away quickly*

DON'T KILL ME! You've got to trust me! I did warn you there'd be an evil cliffhanger… I've only ever written scenes like that for Smallville. Did I do an okay job for Castle? I hope I wrote everybody in-character in the intense scene. When I wrote it, my heart was pounding and I had the music from the end of _Sucker Punch_ in my ears playing over and over again… Well, all that's left is the epilogue and I'm sure you smart readers have figured out what'll happen in it. ;) Then after that will be _Connection_ that I hope you all will check out. After re-reading it a million times over, I think it gives this story more closure as well. Please comment and tell me what you think here and please leave the pitchforks and tomatoes at home. ;)

Thank you to those of you who are simply just reading this story. You mean a lot to me too. :D

Clois and Caskett Forever! :D


	10. Epilogue

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Castle… if I did, I'd be a lot more at ease for what's to come in season 4. :P

**A/N:** Anybody still alive out there in the Castle fandom? Well, if you are, I present to you the conclusion of _If_. Thank you all for sticking with me for this unique story. I hope you all will keep your eyes peeled for _Connection_. I'm thinking of posting it (at least the first half) in about a week or so, once I figure it out, I'll let you guys know. However I'll reveal the artwork to it some time tomorrow – and I'm sure Christy'll make the trailer public too. :D In the meantime, I hope you like the end to _If_…

_Previously in **If**…_

_Castle looked from Beckett to Ryan and Esposito and back to Beckett. His mind started racing. This particular standoff was exactly like the situation he found himself in a year ago with Dick Coonan. Swallowing all his courage, he took one last look at Beckett for strength before he head-butted Jack. The next few seconds seemed to elapse in slow motion. As Jack reached for his nose that now bled as he aimed his gun at Castle, Beckett pulled her trigger. The bullet sailed toward Jack as Jack fired his gun at Castle simultaneously._

_Jack went down, eyes wide, dead. All heads turned to Castle who staggered backwards. Ryan leaped in just in time to catch him._

_"Castle!," Beckett ran toward him and knelt down. Ryan was now kneeling on the ground behind him due to Castle's weight, "Castle! Why in the hell did you do that for?"_

_"It worked last time," Castle managed a smile and looked down. There was a small crimson circle in his side, growing in size, "Well, that's not good."_

_"Esposito, call an ambulance!," Beckett ordered. Esposito stared at Castle before Beckett yelled, "Esposito? Now!"_

_"Right," Esposito shook himself out of it and dialed 9-1-1._

_"You stay with me, Castle," Beckett said, grabbing his hand with one of hers and with the other, applied pressure to his wound. A small tingle went through his hand from her touch, "You're going to be fine."_

_"Yeah, Castle," Ryan echoed, "You gotta come to my wedding."_

_"Proposed to Jenny, then?," Castle assumed._

_"Last night… Thanks to you for giving me the confidence boost I needed," Ryan smiled, "I need my co-best man."_

_"Wouldn't miss that for the world," Castle said, coming out in short breaths, "Wow, nobody ever really says how much this hurts, do they?"_

_"You're going to be fine, Castle," Beckett said, "You're going to be fine."_

_"I'll always be there for you, Kate," Castle said, his eyes watering partially from the pain and from the tenderness of the moment._

_"Castle?," Beckett reached for his bangs that now stuck to his forehead from his sweat. He managed a small smile._

_"Paramedics are on their way," Esposito informed them._

_"See? You're gonna be just fine, Castle," Beckett smiled through tears, looking from Esposito to Ryan and down at Castle, "Castle?"_

_"I heard you," Castle said, his breaths getting shallower. He started to close his eyes and whispered, "Until we meet again, Kate."_

_"Castle! You stay with me!," Beckett yelled as Castle's eyes closed. The pain in his side was too much for him. She repeated his name over and over again, her voice getting more and more muffled as darkness consumed Richard Castle._

* * *

><p>Now the thrilling conclusion of <em>If<em>…

**Epilogue**

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beeps were the next sound Castle heard as he slowly opened his eyes. He found himself staring up at a white ceiling. As he became more aware of his surroundings, he felt someone holding his hand. Turning his pounding head, he saw the top of Katherine Beckett's head. Her eyes were closed as she laid on his hand, sleeping. He turned his head once again and saw his daughter curled up on a chair, lying against her grandmother, both of them sound asleep.

Rick licked his dry lips, whispering hoarsely and almost unrecognizably, "Beckett?"

When she didn't hear him, he flexed the hand she was holding and repeated himself, this time his voice sounding more like itself, "Beckett."

"Castle?," Beckett mumbled, sitting up and rapidly blinked the sleep out of her eyes. As soon as she saw his baby blues smiling at her, a smile crawled on to her lips, "Castle, you're awake."

"How long was I out?," Castle blinked and reached up to take out the breathing tube in his nose. Beckett tentatively stopped him, "You need that… you've been out for almost forty-eight hours. You had us all pretty worried."

"That's what I do best, right?," Castle tried a failed attempt at adding levity to the situation. He switched his gaze to his mother and daughter, "Have they been here long?"

"Almost as long as me," Beckett said, "Should I wake them?"

"Yeah," Castle nodded, "Though could you hand me that cup of water first? My throat's a little dry."

"Our favorite nurse here Christy Schatzie said that it's nothing but ice chips for you, Rick," Beckett said, taking an ice chip out and placing it in his mouth. She smiled at him as he began to suck on the small ice chip.

Beckett got up and slowly shook Alexis awake which in turn woke her grandmother, "Alexis? Your dad's awake."

"Dad?," Alexis said, wiping the sleep out of her eyes.

"Right here, sweetheart," Castle said. From hearing the sound of her father's voice, she shot out of her chair to be by her father's side, "Daddy, you're awake."

"I am," Castle replied, his voice soft, "Sorry if I scared you."

"I knew you were strong enough to pull through," Alexis smiled. Castle furrowed his brows. That was what she said in his study when she said she hadn't said anything. That was a strange coincidence.

"Castle," Lanie entered the room followed by Ryan, Esposito, and Montgomery, "Good to see you back amongst the living."

"Thanks," Castle smiled. The room was quiet for a few minutes. Nobody knew what to say until Castle cut the silence, "Kate? Have you eaten at all?"

"Not that much," Beckett shook her head.

"That's it, you've got to eat something," Castle stated, "I can't have my favorite detective fainting on me."

"I'll get her something," Montgomery volunteered.

"That's okay, sir, I'm fine," Beckett insisted.

"Nonsense, Beckett," Montgomery wouldn't take it, "I know for a fact you've been here longer than any of us and in that time, you barely have eaten anything. I'm getting you something from the cafeteria and you're going to eat it… and that's an order."

"Yes, sir," Beckett nodded as Montgomery left the room to get her something to eat.

"Ryan?," Castle turned to him, "How you doing?"

"Fine," Ryan nodded, "How are you doing?"

"Just dan-dy," Castle smiled, his reply was a little slurred, "Am I still your co-best man at… your wedding to Jenny?"

"Of course, Castle," Ryan smiled, "With Esposito."

"Awesome," Castle said. He started to sound a little loopy and looked to Esposito and Lanie, "Is your wedding next?"

"I don't think so, bro," Esposito shook his head, his arm around Lanie. She gave him a look, but let it slide under the circumstances.

"Sounds like the morphine is starting to work again," Alexis commented.

"Morphine?," Castle asked, wide-eyed, "Is that what that feeling is?"

"Maybe we should get somebody to lower it," Beckett recommended.

"Good idea," Alexis said with a half-laugh at the face Castle was making. She disappeared for a second and brought in Nurse Christy Schatzie.

"Glad to see you finally awake, Mr. Castle," Christy said as she came in and adjusted his bag of morphine drip by his bedside table, leaning over Beckett. She leaned forward on Castle so the nurse could get an easier reach. Christy smiled, "There, is that better?"

"Mmm, yeah," Castle smiled, wrapping his arm around Beckett's head. Everybody laughed at the position he forced Beckett into – she was practically lying in his lap. The morphine level in his blood started to decrease again and he looked more like himself. He took his arm off of Kate's head and she sat back up and fixed her hair.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news," Christy started, "But now that you're awake, you actually need some more rest. That episode you had before when the last morphine bag was running on empty did a real number on you and your broken ribs."

"Is that what happened?," Castle asked, feeling his side and winced. He was more coherent and less loopy now.

"Yes, now your daughter and mother can stay," Christy said, "Family should be the only ones in here right now."

"Then they all should stay," Castle stated, "They're all my family."

"All right," Christy smiled, looking from everyone individually and back to Castle, "Ten more minutes, but then you should rest. You've had enough excitement for the day."

Christy left the room and Castle turned back to Beckett, "So… Broken ribs, huh?"

"Yeah," Beckett nodded and Ryan continued, "Two of them actually."

"Wow," Castle said, "They get the whole bullet out?"

"Bullet?," Beckett furrowed her brows and everyone else followed her, "What bullet?"

"The bullet I was shot with," Castle said, "I mean, it'd be kinda cool to carry it around with me, but I think that would lead to some medical complications in the future. Am I right, Lanie?"

"Castle," Lanie started slowly, "You weren't shot."

Now Castle was confused, "Yeah I was, I don't think I could forget that. How else would I have broken ribs?"

"From the truck," Beckett replied.

"Truck?," Castle asked and sat up a little straighter, "What are you talking about?"

"After you left the precinct the other night," Esposito started an explanation, "You were hit by a truck and broke some ribs in the process, as well as some pretty bad cuts and bruises."

Esposito gestured to his face. Castle reached up and felt some stitches on his forehead and one on his cheek. He looked down at his arms and saw some apparent bruises and scratches and widened his eyes at the sight. Castle looked up at Beckett, a little frightened, "A truck? I don't remember getting hit by a truck. Who hit me?"

"We've got him in custody," Beckett said, "And in an odd turn of events, the man who hit you, John Buns, was also the man who killed our victim. He was fleeing town and ran into you – literally."

"Our victim," Castle started slowly and licked his lips, wishing for another ice chip. His brain still wasn't firing on all cylinders quite yet, "Our victim Anna Snow?"

"No, our victim Ron Carlton," Beckett replied, "The case we were working on when you left."

Castle looked lost in thought for a minute and everyone let him process it. The doctors told them he might be a little out of it after first waking up. After taking a deep breath, Castle gathered up the courage to confront the matter, "Okay, I'm going to ask you something and I'd appreciate it if you replied truthfully."

"Of course," Beckett nodded, grasping his warm hand once again.

"Have I been shadowing you for the last three years?," Castle asked with all seriousness in his eyes.

"Castle," Beckett started, confused. Castle squeezed her hand a little tighter and said, "Please, just answer the question."

"Yes," Beckett said, "You've been shadowing me for three years. You're my partner, Castle."

"I'm back," Castle laid his head back on his pillow in relief.

"Richard, what are you talking about?," Martha asked.

"I don't know what happened," Castle shook his head, "It must've been all a dream."

"What dream?," Ryan asked.

"But I pinched my hand and I didn't wake up," Castle was talking to himself now and looked down at his hand, "Or maybe it was just the small prick of pain when they put the IV in."

"Castle," Beckett prompted, but he continued to talk to himself, "And that would also explain the out of context conversations and other things I heard."

"Castle," Beckett said a little louder, finally grabbing his attention, "What dream are you talking about? Did you have a nightmare?"

"I'll say it was," Castle replied, "You all didn't know who I was."

"We didn't even know you?," Alexis asked, stepping up, placing her hand on her chest.

"No, no, sweetheart," Castle shook his head and gestured to his friends from the precinct, "I'm talking about them. None of you guys knew who I was."

"How do you mean?," Esposito asked.

"We had never met," Castle explained, "Those murders, the Alyson Tisdale case, none of that happened."

"Wow," Ryan's eyebrows went up, "That must've been weird."

"Yeah, and I was hearing some out of context stuff throughout it," Castle said, "It must've been you guys talking to me. Alexis, you said you told me I was strong and that I'd get through this?"

"Yeah," Alexis smiled, glad he heard it. Castle turned to Martha, "And you were trying to get Beckett to eat?"

"Yes," Martha nodded.

Rick grabbed Kate's hand once again, "And you told me to come back to you."

A small tinge of red grew on Beckett's cheeks. Instead of a verbal answer, she simply just nodded and squeezed his hand a little tighter once again.

"Well, that makes a lot more sense," Castle said, "It really was all a dream, I'm glad it's over."

"Me too," Beckett said, "They weren't sure how long it would take you to wake up. After a few hours of surgery to fix any internal bleeding, they had to put you in a semi-conscious state for you to get the rest you needed to heal on your own."

"They told us to talk to you," Alexis said, "They said you'd be able to hear us."

"I did," Castle smiled.

A knock came from the door. It was Nurse Christy, "Sorry, guys, the ten minutes are up."

"Just two more minutes, Christy?," Castle pleaded, putting on his best puppy-dog-eyed look.

"Fine," Christy said, "but just one person."

"We'll meet you guys out there," Ryan said and pointed with his thumb to the door, "Get some rest, bro."

Esposito and Lanie echoed Ryan's wish. Lanie gave Castle a kiss on the cheek and followed her boyfriend and Ryan out the door.

"You go ahead and stay, Kate," Alexis said, "We've got plenty of time to see him."

"Thank you," Kate smiled at Martha and Alexis. Alexis gave her father another kiss on his cheek as Martha simply squeezed his shoulder. After a moment, they left the room as Kate continued to smile at them. They sat in comfortable silence for a moment when Kate's eyes started to water.

"Oh, Kate," Castle said and gently rubbed her tears away with his thumb, "Don't cry, you're going to make me cry."

"I'm sorry," Beckett sniffed, "I really thought we… I had lost you."

"I'm never gonna go away no matter what you or anybody else does," Castle smiled, "You're stuck with me. You can't get rid of me that easily."

"Good to know," Beckett smiled, her tears starting to subside. She dabbed at her eyes with her knuckle and gave Castle a small smile, "I guess even when you're semi-conscious your imagination still runs wild, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess it does," Castle smirked, "I don't ever want to see that world ever again. I'm glad I came into your life. That moment you came up to me at my book party changed my life forever and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world."

"I never want to see what my life would be like without you in it," Beckett confessed, shaking her head and took Castle's hand once again. In that moment, Castle knew what she said at the precinct before his accident must've been some sort of misunderstanding. She really did value him – he was her partner.

"Have you been holding my hand this whole time?," Castle asked, looking down at their intertwined hands.

"Yeah," Beckett said and started to let go, "Is it bothering your IV? I'll stop."

"No," Castle grabbed her hand once more, "I like it… I think it was the connection that kept me in this reality."

"You dreamed up a whole case with a victim and everything?," Beckett shook her head in disbelief and amusement, "You truly are something else, Rick."

"Yes I am," Castle smiled. Taking a chance, he brought Kate's hand up to his mouth and gave it a chaste kiss, "Thank you for being there for me, Kate."

"Always," Beckett smiled.

**THE END**

Well, that's all I wrote for this baby. And I would just like to state that the flipping of Caskett's lines of "Always" was written by me about five or so hours **before** _The Dead Pool_ aired. It was uncanny when I watched it. Also, I clearly wrote the whole "family" thing before last night's episode. Man, I guess I know these characters. ;D I hope you guys liked the hand kiss that I put in there too. ;) I hope you all enjoyed it and liked the twist at the end.

I'm rather proud of the end scene – a tender moment between Castle and Beckett. Please reply and tell me what you thought. Out of the two Castle serial stories I've written so far, I must confess that this one has a special place in my heart. _Connection_ will start to be posted in about a week or so. I do hope you all will check it out. It does explain some things that you might be confused on and gives this story a little bit more of a sense of closure. If you are confused about anything, just ask me and I'll try to explain to the best of my ability. ;D

Thank you to those of you who simply just read this story. You mean a lot to me too. :D

Clois and Caskett Forever! :D


End file.
